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India's most valuable edtech start-up, Byju, has received an additional $ 150 million as it strives to expand the reach of its learning application in the country and in some international markets.
The current unsuccessful round of financing was led by the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the Qatar State sovereign wealth fund, and included the participation of Owl Ventures, a leading investor in start-ups in the education sector. This is Owl Venture's first investment in an Indian start-up.
The 11-year-old start-up, which has raised about $ 925 million to date and was valued at nearly $ 4 billion last December, said it would use this new capital to explore and develop aggressively in international markets. The startup had previously announced plans to enter the United States and the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.
She acquired Osmo, a US-based start-up, much appreciated by children aged 5 to 12 for $ 120 million earlier this year. Osmo recently unveiled a new product for the preschool market.
Byju's helps all schoolchildren understand complex topics through its application, in which tutors use real-life objects such as pizzas and cakes. Over the years, Byju's has invested to refine the English accents in its application and adapt to different educational systems. It has gathered more than 35 million registered users, of which about 2.4 million are paid customers.
"Investments from sovereign wealth funds and leading pension funds validate the fundamentals of our company. Indian IT companies attracting the interest of leading investors demonstrate that India is a pioneer in the digital learning space, "said Byju Raveendran, founder and CEO of Byju's, in a statement.
In India, Byju competes with a handful of players, including the Bangalore-based Unacademy, which is aimed at students preparing for graduation courses. It raised $ 50 million last month.
India has the largest population in the world in the age range of 5 to 24 years old. A report published by KPMG and Google in 2017 estimated that the country's online education market would reach $ 1.96 billion by 2021.
Byju's revenues reached approximately $ 205 million during the fiscal year ending in March. He plans to increase this figure to more than $ 430 million this year. Raveendran said the startup was planning to go public in the next two to three years.
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