Indian edtech firm Byju’s is reportedly set to close a new equity funding round in April, with sources suggesting it will raise $250 million at a valuation of $22 billion. The funding is said to be an equity deal and is expected to be at the same valuation as Byju’s last raise in October 2021.
The company reached a $22 billion valuation after raising $800 million in March 2022. Byju’s aims to achieve profitability by the end of March 2023 and has implemented cost-cutting measures, including laying off 2,500 employees while hiring 10,000 teachers in India and overseas.
The firm booked a loss of INR 45.88 billion ($611.4 million) for the fiscal year ended in March 2021, up from INR 2.32 billion ($30.9 million) in the preceding year, while its revenues in FY21 were INR 24.28 billion ($323.6 million), down from INR 25.11 billion ($334.3 million) in FY20.
For FY22, Byju’s reported that its revenue had jumped fourfold to INR 1 trillion ($13.3 billion), but it has yet to disclose its profit or loss numbers for that year.
Byju’s to secure $250M funding in April
Byju’s is India’s most valuable edtech firm and has raised a total of $2.9 billion in funding to date. It offers a range of online learning programs for K-12 students and also caters to students preparing for competitive exams.
The company has been on a fundraising spree since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, as the shift to online learning has boosted demand for its services. Byju’s is also expanding internationally and has made a number of acquisitions in recent years to help it do so, including purchases of the coding platform WhiteHat Jr and the US-based educational gaming company Osmo.
The latest funding round comes as Byju’s faces increasing competition in India’s edtech space, with rivals such as Unacademy, Vedantu, and Toppr also raising significant amounts of funding in recent years.
The pandemic has spurred the growth of the edtech sector in India, which is projected to reach a market size of $30 billion by 2025. However, the industry also faces challenges such as the need for affordable internet access and the need to address the quality of education in the country.
The additional funding of USD 250 million at a valuation of USD 22 billion is expected to provide Byju’s with the necessary financial resources to further expand its offerings and fuel its growth trajectory.
With its ambitious goal of achieving profitability by the end of March, the company’s decision to downsize and reduce costs is likely to pay off in the long run. The hiring of 10,000 teachers for India and overseas also indicates that Byju’s is planning to expand its presence globally.
Byju’s financial performance in the previous fiscal year showed losses that were significantly higher than the preceding fiscal year. However, with revenue increasing four-fold in the fiscal ending March 2022, the company’s growth trajectory appears to be on an upward trend.