EdTech decacorn and Indian most valuable startup BYJU’S has raised another $150 million as part of its Series F funding round led by Asmaan Ventures, with participation from Mirae Asset and ARK Ncore.
The fresh funding comes at a time when the Bengaluru-based company is reportedly looking to raise $1.5 billion at over $21 billion valuation. It also comes just a day after the company has announced the acquisition of test prep platform Gradeup to bolster its presence in the fast-growing online competitive examination preparation segment.
According to the company’s filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC), Ministry of Corporate Affairs, BYJU’S has allotted 6,045 Series F preference shares at Rs 285,072 per share to Mirae Asset and ARK Ncore, and 38,705 Series F preference shares to Asmaan Ventures at a discount rate of Rs 238,125 per share to raise Rs 1,094 crore or about $150 million. Accordingly, Asmaan Ventures has invested Rs 921.7 crore, Mirae Asset and ARK Ncore have invested Rs 138 crore and Rs 34.5 crore respectively.
According to Entrackr, who first reported the development, BYJU’S has raised the fresh tranche at a post-money valuation of $16.87 billion. It said that Asmaan Ventures has picked up shares at a discounted valuation of $14.5 billion and Mirae and ARK have made their investments at a $16.87 billion valuation.
The Bengaluru-based EdTech major plans to utilize the fresh tranche of funding to finance its spate of acquisitions.
With this funding, BYJU’S has raised over $1.5 billion this year and has acquired more than 15 startups since its inception. In 2021 alone, the company has spent over $2 billion in mergers and acquisitions. Earlier this year, BYJU’S acquired brick-and-mortar test prep service provider Aakash Educational Services in a near $1 billion deal, making it one of the most expensive acquisitions in Indian EdTech space to date.
In July, the company acquired upskilling platform Great Learning in a $600-million deal and spent another $500 million to acquire the US-based kids’ digital reading platform Epic. It subsequently also acquired Whodat – a computer vision and augmented reality startup, and most recently Gradeup, one of the largest test preparation platforms in India that helps students prepare for various government jobs and entrance exams like UPSC, GATE, CAT, JEE, NEET, Banks, SSC, UGC-NET, and Railways among others.
BYJU’S claims to have over 100 million registered students including 6.5 million paid subscribers on its platform. The company recorded an 82.31% surge in its revenue from operations to Rs 2,381 crore in FY20 from Rs 1,306 crore in the previous year.
