BYJU’s, an India-based education startup company, has raised $540 million in a round of funding led by Naspers Ventures and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. This round of funding doubles Byju’s valuation to $3.6 billion. In conjunction with this round, Naspers Ventures’ head of international investments Russell Dreisenstock is joining the company’s board.
And this investment round makes BYJU’s one of the most valuable startups in India. Some of the other biggest startups in India include digital payments company Paytm, cab-hailing company Ola, and online hotel service OYO Rooms.
With this round of funding, BYJU’s plans to further innovate and set new benchmarks for learning products. And the company is planning international market expansions along with bold investments in technology that will help further personalized learning for students.
“We are happy to have prominent and long-term partners like Naspers and CPPIB on board with us. This partnership will strengthen our ability to deliver on our vision to build the world’s largest education company,” said BYJU’s founder and CEO Byju Raveendran in a statement. “India has the largest population attending primary school in the world and Indian households are willing to invest a lot in their children’s education because a good education is viewed as the best path to success. I believe the importance of quality education amongst the entire population in India fueled our ability to create an engaging and high-impact learning app.”
BYJU’s launched its Learning App in 2015, which has personalized learning programs for school students ranging from fourth grade to twelfth grade in India. The Learning App brings educational content, videos, and teachers to mobile devices. And the education app adjusts the pace and style of learning for its users.
Over 30 million students have used the BYJU Learning App and it now has more than 2 million cumulative annual paid subscriptions with an average engagement of 64 minutes per day.
BYJU’s hit profitability earlier this year, but the company said that the focus is to achieve long-term growth. The company is expected to triple its revenue to $195 million this year, according to VentureBeat.
“Naspers partners with high-potential companies that are tackling big societal needs like education, which represents a significant sector ripe for disruption across the globe,” added Dreisenstock. “With the largest school-age population in the world and a growing middle-class with the willingness to commit significant resources towards quality education for their children, BYJU’S is perfectly positioned to provide an effective supplemental education solution for students across India. We partnered with BYJU’S because we believe the company’s success in India will translate across borders in any country where students are looking for an innovative and engaging form of education beyond the classroom.”
