Byju’s raises $150 million from Qatar government’s investment fund

• The Indian edtech unicorn has raised $150 million from Qatar Investment Authority and Owl Ventures.
• Its reported valuation now stands at $5.7 billion.
• This is QIA’s first primary investment in India.

Byju’s, India’s first edtech unicorn, has secured an investment of $150 million from Qatar Investment Authority and Owl Ventures. According to reports, Byju’s is now valued at $5.7 billion.

Qatar Investment Authority is the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar, who have been investing since 2005. In India, it has investments in real estate, Airtel and Flipkart. However, Byju’s is the first primary investment made by QIA in India.

“Indian ed-tech firms attracting interest from eminent investors demonstrates that India is pioneering the digital learning space globally. High adoption and 85% annual renewal from small towns and cities shows increasing acceptance of digital learning as a primary tool for learning at home,” said Byju Raveendran, Founder & CEO, Byju’s in a statement.

Raveendran further said that with this new partnership they will explore newer markets. Byju’s had raised ₹2.14 billion in March 2019 from NY-based General Atlantic and Chinese VC firm Tencent.

In May 2019, the startup had announced that it had turned profitable, thanks to an increase in the number of paid users, at 2.4 million. This number has doubled since last year, when it stood at 1.26 million in June 2018.