BYJU’S, creator of the K-12 learning app, announced on Monday that Naspers, a global internet and entertainment group and one of the largest technology investors in the world is leading a $540-million investment into the education start-up, with a significant portion also being contributed by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).
The new round of funding will drive the Byju’s team to further innovate, explore and set new benchmarks for tech-enabled learning products. The company has aggressive plans for international market expansion and will make investments in technology that will help to further personalise learning for students.
Byju Raveendran, founder & CEO, Byju’s – The Learning App, said India has the largest school-age population in the world and Indian households are willing to invest in their children’s education. Byju added that while near-term profitability is important, the focus continues to be on long-term sustainable growth.
The edtech industry is undergoing big shifts since students today want to learn through engaging and interactive methods.
“Naspers partners with high-potential companies that are tackling big societal needs like education, which represents a significant sector ripe for disruption across the globe,” said Russell Dreisenstock, head of international investments, Naspers Ventures. “We partnered with Byju’s because we believe the company’s success in India will translate across borders in any country where students are looking for an innovative and engaging form of education beyond the classroom,” he added.
With 30 million students cumulatively learning from the app and over 2 million annual paid subscriptions, Byju’s has witnessed phenomenal growth. The learning app sees an engagement of an average 64 minutes from students daily. The company has been growing at 100% for the last 3 years, and is on target to triple it’s revenue to `1,400 crore this year.
Frank Su, head of private equity Asia at CPPIB, said, “CPPIB is an active and long-term investor in India, with C$8 billion of capital invested in the country across multiple sectors. We have extensive investments and experience across education and technology globally. Byju’s is a leader at the intersection of education and technology and has established a market-leading position, with a long-term sustainable growth plan across content, subjects, languages and geographies. We are excited about the investment, and look forward to a successful partnership in the future.”
