Learning curve: Byju’s raising USD200 mn funding from BlackRock, T Rowe Price

The development comes about two months after Byju’s had raised about $500 million (about Rs 3,672 crore) in a round that valued the company at $10.8 billion. It has raised $200 million in a fresh round of funding that has raised the company’s valuation to $12 billion, as per sources, who said private equity players BlackRock and T Rowe Price are participating in the new round.

Byju’s (Think & Learn Pvt Ltd) declined to comment, while comments from BlackRock and T Rowe Price could not be elicited immediately. The edutech firm has raised significant capital this year.

In June, Byju’s had raised funding from global technology investment firm BOND, while in February, it had raised about $200 million in funding from General Atlantic. The company, however, had not disclosed the financial details.

Regulatory filings by Byju’s to the Corporate Affairs Ministry in August had shown that the company has raised about Rs 909 crore in funding from billionaire Yuri Milner-led DST Global giving the entity 1.2 per cent shareholding in the edu-tech company.

In September this year, Byju’s had announced raising funds from Silver Lake and existing investors, Tiger Global, General Atlantic and Owl Ventures. At that time, Byju’s had said it has seen over 20 million new students start learning from its platform for free since the lockdown (which was implemented in March).

The edu-tech space has seen strong growth globally with the COVID-19 pandemic serving as an inflection point. While a number of players have raised fresh funding from investors, consolidation is also being seen in the industry with deals like Unacademy buying PrepLadder for $50 million and Byju’s buying WhiteHat Jr for $300 mn.