BY THE WAY: The Qatar Investment Authority, a fund owned by the Middle Eastern nation of the same name, has invested $150 million into Byju’s, a Bangalore, India-based K-12 learning app provider. Owl Ventures participated in the round, which is the investor's first in an Indian startup.
Founded in 2008, Byju’s plans to use the money toward international expansion and improving its products, according to a statement Wednesday. The company targets students in grades 1 to 12 and claims to have tripled revenue to 14.3 billion rupees (about USD $209.13 million) in fiscal year 2018 to 2018, turning profitable on a full-year basis. Byju's has passed 2 billion rupees (about USD $29.25 million) in monthly revenue and expects over 30 billion rupees (about USD $438.65 million) in revenue this year.
The company's services first focused on video-based tutorials and online quizzes that cover India’s core academic subjects and certification exams. In 2015, the company launched a mobile app, which it claims is now used by more than 30 million students, including 2 million paying subscribers.
In October, Byju’s raised $100 million before raising another $540 million two months later. In January, it bought educational games seller Osmo. According to Crunchbase, Byju’s has raised at least $1.1 billion to date.
