Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan got 7X return on their investment in this Indian startup

• The Chan Zuckerberg initiative invested in Byju’s in September 2016.
  
• Almost four years later, the husband wife duo have made seven times their investment of ₹22.86 crore.
  
• Byju’s recently raised $200 million from Tiger Global at a $8 billion valuation.
  

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and pediatrician Priscilla Chan made their first investment in Asia in Indian edtech unicorn Byju’s. The debut by the Chan Zuckerberg initiative can be described as stellar. The husband wife duo’s investment of ₹22.86 crore in September 2016 is now worth at least seven times more, according to a report by Entrackr.

“I’m optimistic about personalized learning and the difference it can make for students everywhere. That’s why it’s a major focus of our education efforts, and why we’re looking forward to working with companies like BYJU’s to get these tools into the hands of more students and teachers around the world,” Zuckerberg had then said.

According to reports, the Chan Zuckerberg initiative took home ₹167.7 crore through a partial exit. Though this is the only investment by the initiative in India, Facebook has invested in startups like Meesho.

Byju’s however can be counted as their best bet till date. The startup founded in 2011, is amongst India’s top three unicorns. In January 2020, the edtech startup raised $200 million from Tiger Global at a $8 billion valuation. The same deal also gave handsome returns to Sequoia, Times Internet and SCHF PV Mauritius.

Byju’s is one of those rare unicorns which reported a profit of ₹20 crore in FY19. The startup also cut down its losses by over 76% to ₹8.8 crore in from ₹37.1 crore in FY18. Its profitability comes from its high paid user base which now stands at 2.8 million.

“The growth in revenue was fuelled by deeper penetration across India and significant growth in the number of paid subscribers,” the company said.

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