BYJU’s, an edtech platform, based out of Bengaluru, has raised $150 million (approx ₹1027 crore) from the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA). An edtech investment firm Owl Ventures, also participated in the round.
India’s popular edtech startup will use the funds for international expansion and tailoring its product for a global audience. The maiden investment from QIA and Owl Ventures in India will aim at boosting innovation in the tech-enabled learning space.
“This partnership will support and strengthen our vision of creating and delivering personalised learning experiences to students. This will help us explore and leverage our expertise in creating immersive tech-enabled learning programs for students in smaller cities, regions and newer markets,” Byju Raveendran, founder and CEO, BYJU’S, said.
Founded in 2008 by Divya Gokulnath and Byju Raveendran, BYJU’S offers a learning app. The app was launched in 2015 and has learning programmes for students in classes IV-XII along with courses to help students prepare for competitive exams like JEE, NEET, CAT, IAS, GRE, and GMAT.
“This investment underscores QIA’s strong commitment to the education sector and our focus on investing in leading innovators in the TMT industry globally,” said Mansoor Al-Mahmoud, CEO of QIA.
BYJU’S was last valued at $ 5 billion in March and has raised over $819.8 million funding from investors such as General Atlantic, Tencent, Naspers, and Canada’s Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) among others.
Other players in the edtech domain includes Unacademy, Simplilearn, Toppr, Meritnation, and Vedantu, among many others.