Byju’s valuation hits $18 billion propelled by favorable trends

Byju’s, an operator of an online learning platform, has raised $300 million at a valuation of $18 billion. The company is expected to receive even more funding as a part of the round, which will likely ultimately value the India-based edtech company at over $21 billion, TechCrunch reported.

Investment bankers reportedly believe that public markets would value Byju’s between $40 and $50 billion if the company chose to list itself.

Byju’s, the most valuable VC-backed edtech company in the world, is likely benefiting from a couple major trends at the same time.

The company had big goals before the pandemic. But after schools around the world shut down and moved online, demand for edtech products surged at an unprecedented pace, leading Byju’s to raise a total of $1.8 billion and more than double its valuation.

China’s ban of for-profit tutoring companies may also indirectly help Byju’s reach global ambitions faster.

“While Chinese companies are urgently repositioning their businesses to comply with regulations, Indian edtechs have been actively raising funds to scale their domestic businesses and grow their footprint abroad via M&A and partnerships across North America, Latin America and Southeast Asia,” Ian Chiu, a managing director at Owl Ventures, an edtech-focused VC firm and Byju’s investor, said.

Bengaluru-based Byju’s has been using its funding to scoop up other edtech startups, including Singapore-headquartered Great Learning for $600 million, US-based Epic for $500 million, and India’s Aakash Educational Services for about $1 billion.

Byju’s may need to raise more capital if it plans to continue its shopping spree. The company could tap the public markets or again turn to late-stage investors who will likely be even more eager to pour funds into Byju’s in light of the uncertainty in China.

“Many global growth investors who previously invested in China have also been active in India, so there may be a shift in the allocation of funds towards India,” Chiu said.

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