Sequoia, Zuckerberg lead $50m round for India's Byju's
Indian education start-up Byju’s has received a $50 million funding round led by Sequoia Capital and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), a vehicle established by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan.
Lightspeed Venture Partners, Times Internet and Belgium's Sofina also contributed to the round. Sequoia, Sofina and Times Internet participated in a $75 million investment in the company earlier this year. CZI is making its first commitment in Asia.
The capital will be used to expand international use of the company's in-house development product known as "the learning app," which has been downloaded more than 5.5 million times and achieved 250,000 subscribers across India. The app, which is also currently used in some parts of the Middle East, averages an engagement rate of 40 minutes per day, with 90% of users renewing their subscriptions.
"Lightspeed has invested in education technology companies in the US, China and India," Dev Khare, managing director at Lightspeed India Partners, said in a statement. "Amongst all these companies globally, Byju's market leading education offering is unique and transformational because it is specifically geared with a differentiated pedagogy to the needs of India's 250 million students."
Founded in 2011, Byju's offers its mobile-based test preparation programs at kindergarten to high school (K-12) levels with a focus on original content, video lessons and interactive activities that personalize learning for each student. Addressing a lack of education options outside India's largest urban areas is a key strategic focus.
In July, the company received a $15 million investment from the International Finance Corporation to finance expansion of services, technology development and inorganic growth. Other previous backers include local VC firm Aarin Capital.
India's online education market will be worth $40 billion by next year, according to the India Brand Equity Foundation. The market is estimated to be the largest globally for K-12 education, with more than 250 million new enrollments per year.
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