Edtech unicorn BYJU’S has raised $250 million in a new funding round from existing investors including Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) at a $22 billion valuation. Moreover, the company did not mention any specific names of the investors who participated in the round.
“BYJU’S raises USD 250 million in a fresh funding round. Existing investors, including QIA, (were) part of this round,” the company’s founder said in a statement.
Last week, the latest funding mop-up comes on the heels of Byju’s announcing a slew of measures to optimize its operations and achieve group-level profitability by March 2023.
The news comes a week after the company announced that it would be laying off more than 2,500 people.
As per the reports, the spokesperson of the company told that the layoffs “will not happen immediately” but will happen over “six months.” The company also plans to hire 10,000 more teachers in the upcoming year.
This year is going to be the best year for the company in terms of “revenue, growth, and profitability” regardless of the “macroeconomic conditions”, mentioned the Founder, and CEO of BYJU’S, Byju Raveendran.
Earlier this year, Byju launched BYJU’S Tuition Centre (BTC), the hybrid learning offering. The company now operates more than 250 such centers across the country and aims to run 500 centers by the end of this financial year.
Byju will leave out the offline coaching chain Aakash Education and upskilling platform Great Learning, out of this arrangement, with both entities continuing to operate as stand-alone independent units.
The company is also expecting to retarget its marketing budget towards its overseas markets, it said. The group is also increasing the strength of its inside sales team for more efficient and effective consumer-centric lead conversions to increase the top line.
This decision to cut costs by India’s largest Edtech company symbolizes the sorry state of the Edtech sector, which is still struggling because of the corona pandemic.
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