Byju’s rakes in $250 million from existing investors
Summary
This means the capital that we now invest in our business will result in profitable growth and create sustainable social impact. Continued support from our esteemed investors re-affirms the impact created by us so far, and validates our path to profitability, said Byju Raveendran, founder and chief executive of Byjus.Previously, QIA led a $150 million round in Byjus in July 2019. Besides these two, the Bengaluru-headquartered company is backed by Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, Sequoia Capital India, Silver Lake, BlackRock, Sands Capital Management, Alkeon Capital Management, Sofina, Verlinvest, Tencent, Naspers Ventures, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), General Atlantic, Tiger Global, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Times Internet, Aarin Capital, and IFC.The latest funding mop-up comes on the heels of Byjus, last week, announcing a slew of measures to optimize its operations and achieve group-level profitability by March 2023.These measures include laying off 2,500 employees accounting for 5% of its workforce over the next six months, integrating the companies it acquired over the past three years, reworking its sales machinery and hiring a total of 10,000 more teachers in the coming year.The layoffs are planned across product, content, media and technology teams in a phased manner. According to the company, the cost cuts will help achieve better unit economics and prepare the ground for its initial public offering (IPO).Byjus has completed the integration of the companies it acquired over the past three years, including Toppr, Meritnation, TutorVista, Scholar and HashLearn, into its core K-10 business. The Tiger Global-backed company is also increasing the strength of its inside sales team for more efficient and effective consumer-centric lead conversions, it added.Early this year, Byjus launched its hybrid learning offering, BYJUS Tuition Centre (BTC).