Tencent invests in Indian edtech startup Byju’s to help it grow through acquisitions

Mark Zuckerberg-backed edtech startup Byju’s raises US$540M in fresh funding

The Byju’s app creates personalised learning programmes for individual students based on their proficiency levels and capabilities which help them learn at their own pace and style

Byju’s Founder and CEO Byju Raveendran

Byju’s, the most popular edtech startup in India, has raised an undisclosed investment from Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings.

This round of funding will help the Bangalore-based startup accelerate product development for new markets and enable inorganic growth through acquisitions.

Byju Raveendran, Founder and CEO of Byju’s, said: “With increased brand awareness and strong adoption amongst students, this year we expect the revenue to double again and we will be profitable on a full year basis. This round of funding will help us leverage our expertise in creating highly effective tech-enabled learning programs to cater to the learning requirements in new markets.”

Launched in 2015, Byju’s is a creator of K-12 learning app which offers adaptive, engaging and effective learning programmes for students in classes 4-12 (K-12) and competitive exams like JEE, NEET, CAT, IAS, GRE and GMAT. The app creates personalised learning programmes for individual students based on their proficiency levels and capabilities which help them learn at their own pace and style.

The learning app makes learning contextual and visual, and not just theoretical. With 9 million students learning from the app and over 450,000 annual paid subscribers, Byju’s claims to have seen more than 100 per cent growth. The company also turned profitable last quarter.

Early this month, Byju’s acquired TutorVista and Edurite from British multinational publishing and education company Pearson Plc. In March, the edtech firm raised nearly US$30 million funding from Verlinvest, a Belgian investment company and investor in Southeast Asian e-commerce company Lazada.

Previously, Byju’s secured US$50 million, co-led by Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) — a fund launched by Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg and Dr. Priscilla Chan. This funding came less than six months after it secured US$75 million from Sequoia Capital and Sofina.

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