BYJU'S raises 455 mn USD led by Baron Funds as part of 1B USD round

Leading ed-tech company BYJU'S has raised $455 million from investors that include Baron Funds and Facebook cofounder Eduardo Saverin's B Capital Group, as part of a $1 billion 'Series F' round, the media reported on Monday.

Citing government filings by the company, Inc42 reported that existing investors like Silver Lake Management, Owl Ventures, and T. Rowe Price etc are also participating in the round.

The latest fund-raising comes after the BYJU'S announced to acquire Aakash Educational Services Ltd (AESL) through a strategic merger. The deal size is also pegged at close to $1 billion, according to a person familiar with the transaction.

"Our complementary strengths will enable us to build capabilities, create engaging and personalised learning programmes. The future of learning is hybrid and this union will bring together the best of offline and online learning, as we combine our expertise to create impactful experiences for students," Byju Raveendran, Founder and CEO, BYJU'S, had said earlier this month.

In September, Byju's raised $500 million (approximately Rs 3,689 crore) in a funding round led by global technology investment firm Silver Lake.

Existing investors Tiger Global, General Atlantic and Owl Ventures also participated in the round that put the edtech startup's valuation at $10.8 billion.

The new investment came barely a month after Byju's acquired WhiteHat Jr, a Mumbai-based coding platform, for $300 million.

"We are excited to welcome a strong partner like Silver Lake to the BYJU'S family," Raveendran had said.

Byju's said it has seen over 20 million new students starting learning from its platform for free since the lockdown.

The app currently has over 64 million registered students and 4.2 million annual paid subscriptions.