BYJU'S

BYJU’S - The Learning App is the common brand name for Think and Learn Private Ltd.,
a Bangalore-based educational technology (edtech) and online tutoring firm founded in 2011 by
Byju Ravindran at Bangalore (India).
In March 2019, it was the world’s most valued edtech company at $5.4 billion (Rs
37,000 crore). Shah Rukh Khan is the brand ambassador for BYJU'S. In July 2019, BYJU'S
acquired Indian cricket team's jersey rights

Type Private

Industry Edtech, distance education, m-learning

Founded 2011; 8 years ago[3]

Founder Byju Raveendran (Founder,CEO)[1][4]

Headquarters Bangalore, Karnataka[3]

India

Area served Multinational

Products BYJU’S - The Learning App

Revenue ₹5,200 million(US$75 million or €67 million) (2018)[5]

Total equity $5.4 billion (2019[6])

Number of 3200 (2019[7])

Website byjus.com

PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

BYJU’S runs on a premium model. Free access to content is limited to 15 days after the
registration.
Their main product is a mobile app named BYJU'S-The Learning App launched in August 2015. It
provides educational content mainly to school students from class 1 to 12 (primary to higher
secondary level education). The company trains students for examinations in India such as IIT-
JEE, NEET, CAT, IAS as well as for international examinations such as GRE and GMAT.
The main focus is on mathematics and science, where concepts are explained using 12-20
minute digital animation videos. BYJU'S reports to have 33 million users overall, 2.2 million
annual paid subscribers and an annual retention rate of about 85%. The app purports to tailor the
content provided to the individual student’s learning pace and style. The average student spends
53 minutes daily using BYJU'S.
The company announced that it will launch its app in regional Indian languages in 2019. It also
plans to launch an international version of the app for English-speaking students in other countries
in 2019.

KEY SUCCESS FACTORS

The main factor of the success is that their idea, he identified the gap in the education ecosystem.
After analyzing the gap his offering in terms of his products and services helped him to grab the
attention of investors very fast and easily.
ACQUISTION-
In July 2017, Think and Learn acquired TutorVista (including Edurite) from Pearson.
In January 2019, BYJU’S acquired a US-based Osmo, a maker of educational games for children
aged 3-8 years for $120 million
FUNDING
BYJU’S received seed funding from Aarin Capital in 2013.

As of 2019, BYJU’S has secured nearly $785 million in funding from investors, including Sequoia
Capital India, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), Tencent, Sofina, Lightspeed Venture
Partners, Brussels-based family office Verlinvest, development finance institution IFC, Napsters
Ventures, CPPIB and General Atlantic. BYJU’S was the first company in Asia to receive an
investment from Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative (co-funded by Facebook founder Mark
Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan).

As per the company filings with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, BYJU’S became a unicorn and
is valued at US$1 billion (INR 6,505 Crore) as of March 2018.

BYJU'S operates roughly on a premium business model where a paid subscription is required for
most of the content. In 2017, BYJU’s generated revenues of about 260 crore (US $40 million or
€33 million) and doubled it 2018 financial year, earning 520 crore. BYJU’S has targeted a revenue
of 1400 crores for 2019 financial year.
 FINANCIALS

Incorporated on 30 November 2011, BYJU’S had secured $244 Mn in funding prior to the
latest Series F round. The breakdown of the massive $328 Mn round is as follows:
  Naspers Ventures BV bought 1,59,352 shares for $171 Mn (INR 1236.65 Cr)
 Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Private Holdings bought 1,13,823 shares
for $122.59 Mn (INR 886.43 Cr)
 General Atlantic Singapore bought 27,431 shares for $27.53 Mn (INR 199.12 Cr)

This indicates that the company has absolutely no cash flow issues and can spend freely
on sales and marketing and expansion activities in the coming years.

As of June 2018, BYJU’S had more than 20 Mn registered students on its learning app,
with close to 1,26 Mn paid annual subscriptions. The app also sees an addition of 1.5 Mn
registered students every month.

According to the company filings dated October 19, 2018, and December 6 and 7, 2018,
BYJU’S continued with its claim of achieving profitability between FY18 and FY22 and is
looking to generate a net profit of $83.3 Mn by 2022.

While the detailed financials for FY18 are not available yet, it claimed to have crossed the
INR 100 Cr monthly revenue mark in May 2018. In a media statement, BYJU’S also said
it has been growing 100% annually for the last three years, since the launch of its learning
app in 2015.

Revenue To Almost Double In FY18

K-12 and online test preparation form the major revenue source for the company. Starting
2019, BYJU’S also expects significant revenue from its one-on-one mentoring sessions
based on commission. So far, details of this offering have not been disclosed by the
company.

Its gross revenue for FY16-17 jumped to $36 Mn (INR 247 Cr) from $16 Mn (INR 110 Cr)
in the previous year, clocking a 124% Y-o-Y growth. In FY18, the company projects a
high growth and looks to almost double its gross revenue to $69 Mn (INR 498 Cr).

BYJU’S further projects this number to increase at a 32.6% CAGR, reaching $242 Mn
(INR 1,743 Cr) by 2022.

Liquidity At Hand To Fuel Expenses For Next 5 Years

There are three segments in which BYJU’S is expecting to incur the maximum expenses
till 2022.

Marketing: Being an online platform, the company incurs significant costs across
channels such as digital marketing, events, and offline marketing as well as ATL
marketing. ATL stands for ‘above the line’, referring to advertising that is deployed around
a wider target audience, e.g. television, radio, or billboards.
Product Development: BYJU’S is working on launching international products by the
end of next year. It had acquired Tutorvista and Edurite from Pearson in July 2017
precisely for this purpose.

The company has made two other acquisitions to speed up its expansion in the Indian
market. This includes Bengaluru-based math learning startup Math Adventures (July
2018) and student assessment platform Vidyartha (January 2017).

Also, according to PAS-3 filing on mca.org accessed by Inc42, BYJU’S also reported an
amalgamation with Mumbai-based edtech company ZEUS Learning. Thus, in its
projections, the company has indicated that it will be spending a good amount on product
development.

Employee Cost: With expansion activities planned, BYJU’S expects its employee costs
to increase in the next five years. It is also increasing its human resource count to execute
its upcoming marketing projects. For instance, in June, reports surfaced on its pilot project
— Feet on Street — based on a new sales model under which executives go from home-
to-home in small cities to sell its products.

BYJU’S Makes The Grade

Overall, BYJU’S is quietly but steadily moving towards fulfilling its projected targets in the
education market of India, currently valued at $100 Bn. Going by the numbers, today e-learning
in India is pegged at $2 Bn and is expected to reach $5.7 Bn by 2020.

Going forward, with expansion to the Middle East, the US, the UK, South Africa, and other African
and Commonwealth market on the cards, BYJU’S profitability matrix certainly signals the
emergence of another potential decacorn from the Indian startup ecosystem.