General Atlantic pumps in more capital into Byju’s

NEW DELHI: New Delhi: General Atlantic has invested an undisclosed sum in an ongoing funding round at educational technology company Byju’s, following Tiger Global, which had put in $150-$200 million into the Bengaluru-based unicorn last month.

Byju’s, which was valued at $8 billion after Tiger Global’s investment, did not reveal the exact amount invested by General Atlantic, but sources briefed on the matter indicated that the marquee private equity firm had pumped in a similar amount to that of the New York-based investor. ET,however, has not been able to independently verify this, while a company spokesperson declined to share the terms of the transaction.

Prior to its latest capital infusion, General Atlantic, which first invested in the company in 2018, had invested `406 crore for a 1.6% stake, according to industry tracker Tracxn.

“General Atlantic has been one of our strongest partners and this additional investment shows their confidence in our vision, growth and future. We are happy to see an ever-increasing acceptance for our learning programs in small towns across the country,” Byju Raveendran, chief executive of Byju’s, said in a statement.

Asignificant chunk of the capital raised is likely to go towards expansion beyond its core domestic market.

ET reported last month, citing sources, that the company was seeking to raise more than $1 billion through the course of the current calendar year, and was in talks with multiple investors, including certain US-based endowment funds. Multiple secondary transactions may also take place, EThad said, in the process, providing exits to some of the early backers of the eight-year-old company, which is valued at $8 billion.

General Atlantic has also acquired Byju’s stock from various stakeholders in the company in a series of secondary transactions, including from Sequoia Capital and Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative in 2018 and 2019, according to data sourced from paper.vc.

Byju’s, which has raised between $300-$400 million in the first two months of 2020, had previously raised $917 million across rounds, and counts the likes of Tencent, Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, CPPIB, Naspers, Verlinvest, Qatar Investment Authority, IFC and Owl Ventures, as investors.

The K-12 focused company, which is owned and operated by Think & Learn Private Ltd, posted net income of `20.16 crore for the financial year ended March 31, 2019. It is the only profitable consumer internet unicorn to have emerged from India.