Byju’s raises funds from BlackRock, Sands Capital and Alkeon Capital

Byju’s, India’s second-largest startup by valuation, said on September 22 that it had raised a round of funding led by investment management firm BlackRock, tech investor Sands Capital and hedge fund Alkeon Capital. Existing investors General Atlantic. Owl Ventures and Tiger Global, also participated.

Byju’s did not state the amount it had raised or its valuation in the round. It was valued at $10.8 billion by private equity firm Silver Lake earlier in September.

“As we continue to create engaging and personalised learning solutions, partnerships like these reaffirm our commitment to build and transform the global learning landscape through technology, innovation and quality pedagogy. Continued support from our existing investors is a testament of their confidence in us and our mission,” said Byju Raveendran, Founder & CEO, in a statement.

Byju’s has raised over a billion dollars in 2020 alone, more than the entire Indian ed-tech industry raised in 2019. The sector, as a whole, has been turbo-charged by the pandemic which has forced students to learn from home and made companies come up with newer solutions to replicate and better the offline experience.

The company said that, since the lockdown, it had added over 25 million new students on its platform. It currently has over 70 million registered students and 4.5 million annual paid subscriptions.

Byju’s has also seen its valuation double in a year. Investors who have come in this year include Tiger, Mary Meeker-led BOND, DST Global and Silver Lake.