Indian edtech Byju's raises $30m in fresh funding
Bangalore-based edtech start-up Byju’s has raised an estimated $30m in funding from Belgian venture firm Verlinvest. Byju’s, which uses technology and data science to offer personalised learning to around 8 million students across India and the Middle East, previously won backing from investors including the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and Lightspeed Ventures. The new funds will be used to expand into the USA, UK, South Africa and other African and Commonwealth markets, as well as to further acquisition plans. 

BENGALURU: Byju’s, the edtech startup, has raised an undisclosed funding from Belgium based venture firm Verlinvest . The money will be used for fuelling international expansion and acquisition plans.“In the last 18 months, we have witnessed exponential growth in India. While these numbers are very exciting, there is a long way to go before we can call it a revolution. The fact that we are still reaching to less than 1% of the student population, shows the immense potential and the impact we can create,” said Byju Raveendran , CEO, Byju's.People familiar with the development place the deal at $30 million at a valuation of $ 676 million (approx. Rs 4500 crores).The Bengaluru based startup, which already has presence in the Indian and Middle East markets is looking to expand to the USA, UK, South Africa and other African and Commonwealth markets.Byju's targets students from classes four to 12 (K-12) and those taking competitive exams like JEE, NEET, CAT, IAS, GRE and GMAT. Byju’s The Learning App makes use of original content, graphics and other video tools to explain concepts and theories that makes learning contextual and visual, not just theoretical. It leverages technology and data science to make learning personalised so that the students will know what to learn, when to learn, how to learn, how much to learn, and how fast to learn.“A 1:1 learning experience is a dream ratio, and it is very encouraging to see that an Indian company has created a product which closely addresses this need by offering engaging and personalized learning experiences enabled by technology. We have seen a lot of edtech companies, but Byju’s offers personalized learning to an extent which we haven’t seen in any product across the globe. We look forward to supporting the management team to expand to new markets and to further build the brand," said Nicholas Cator, Executive Director, Verlinvest.The edtech startup has already raised around $174 million in funding, before this round, from investors such as the Chan Zuckerberg initiative , Sofina, Sequoia , Lightspeed Ventures and Times Internet Ltd, part of Times Group which publishes The Economic Times.Around eight million students are learning from the Byju's app today, with close to 4,00,000 paid annual subscriptions till date and the renewal rates are at around 90 percent, said Byju Raveendran.The startup had also launched a new app for students in class four and five called Byju’s Math App and had acquired Bengaluru based Vidyartha, a data-driven platform offering customised learning guidance to students, recently.Verlinvest has invested in wine producer Sula Vineyards and edtech startup XSEED, among others.