Byju’s, the India-based education services provider which counts corporates Tencent, Naspers and Bennett Coleman & Co (BCC) among its investors, has secured $800m in funding at a valuation of $22bn, the Economic Times reported on Friday.
The round was reportedly led by Byju’s founder Byju Raveendran to the tune of $400m, while BlackRock, Sumeru Ventures and Vitruvian Partners filled out the participants.
Founded in 2011, Byju’s operates an online platform that provides a range of study resources including mock exams for students of all ages.
Sources told ET that Byju’s is looking to file for an initial public offering in the next nine to 12 months, opting for a regular listing over earlier plans to go public via a reverse merger with a special purpose acquisition company in the US.
Byju’s has raised multiple nine-figure rounds in the past year, most recently when it reeled in $300m through an October 2021 round led by Oxshott Capital Partners with backing from Verition Master Fund, Edelweiss Ventures, XN Exponent, IIFL and Time Capital Advisors at a valuation of $18bn.
Just one month earlier, the company had raised $150m in an Asmaan Ventures-led round that also featured Mirae Asset and Ark Ncore.
Times Internet, the online services subsidiary of BCC, had participated in a $50m round for Byju’s in 2016 that it followed with a $40m round the following year that included internet group Tencent.
Naspers Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiary of media and e-commerce group Naspers that has since been rebranded to Prosus Ventures, subsequently led a $540m funding round for the company in 2018.
