Tencent and Naspers-backed education platform Byju’s is targeting an expansion into the US, the UK, Australia and New Zealand following the $150m funding round.

Byju’s, an India-based educational software provider backed by internet company Tencent and media and e-commerce group Naspers, has secured $150m in funding led by Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), TechCrunch reported today.

QIA, the sovereign wealth fund of Qatar, was joined by Owl Ventures. The round valued Byju’s at $5.75bn, a person privy to the development told TechCrunch.

Byju’s has developed a mobile app for primary and high school students to learn through personalised coursework. The platform also helps students prepare for undergraduate and graduate degrees, and has attracted more than 35 million users to date.

The company is gearing up for an aggressive expansion in India and into international markets, with the US, the UK, Australia and New Zealand key targets. The funding will allow Byju’s to pursue these plans as it also prepares to go public within two to three years.

Byju’s has raised approximately $940m in funding since it was founded in 2011. Tencent previously contributed to a $31m round in April 2019 that was led by Growth Atlantic and valued Byju’s at $5.4bn.

Naspers Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiary of Naspers, led a $540m round in December 2018 that also featured General Atlantic and Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board.

The company’s shareholders also include Times Internet, the digital arm of media group Bennett, Coleman & Co, as well as Sequoia Capital, Sofina, International Finance Corporation, Verlinvest, Aarin Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

Thierry Heles

Thierry Heles is the former editor-at-large of Global University Venturing and Global Corporate Venturing, and was the producer and host of the Beyond the Breakthrough podcast until December 2024.