BYJU'S - The Learning App is the popular brand name for Think and Learn Private Ltd., a Bengaluru-based Educational technology (edtech) and online tutoring company that has recently received large-scale attention from students across India and attracted investors from across the globe. It was founded in 2011 by Byju Raveendran at Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. In fact,Byju himself comes from a small village in Kerala, Azhikode. BYJU'S was the first investment in Asia from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. It is currently India's best funded education startup and is considered to be one among the only few Indian consumer startups that has gone global, particularly with the 2017 acquisition of TutorVista.
Video BYJU's
Products and Services
Their flagship product is a smartphone app named BYJU'S-The Learning App that has been available since August 2015. The App serves educational content mainly to school students from classes 4 to 12 (primary to higher secondary level education). The company trains students for competitive 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 the concepts are visually explained and in context using modern digital animations and moving illustrations, all embedded within short videos (15-20 minutes long). The app has received criticism for a few issues such as lack of depth in some areas, overly simplistic treatment of some basic topics, and lack of within-lecture student-teacher interaction. In spite of the adverse critical opinion and competition from other players (including Edtech startups and traditional education firms), the app has enjoyed tremendous popularity. BYJU'S reports to have over 15 million users overall and about nine lakh paid subscribers on an annual basis and an annual retention rate of about 90%.
Maps BYJU's
Financials and Ownership
BYJU'S operates roughly on a freemium business model where a paid subscription is required for most of the content.
As of April 2018, the company has raised around $244 million. The major investors and stakeholders include Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), Sequoia Capital, Sofina, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Verlinvest, Aarin Capital and Times Internet (Times of India group). This was the first investment from CZI (co-funded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan) in Asia.
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) in March 2018.
In FY 2016-17, BYJU'S saw its revenue more than double and its losses increase by 10% as compared to the last financial year 2015-16. Gross revenue for FY 2016-17 jumped to $36 Mn (INR 247 Crore) from $16 Mn (INR 110 Crore) in the previous year, clocking a 124% Year-on-Year growth. On the expense front, BYJU'S total expenses grew by 87% from $23 Mn (INR 156 Crore) to $43 Mn (INR 291 Crore), while in FY15-16 this increment was 104%.
Acquisitions
In June 2017, BYJU'S acquired the online education businesses of TutorVista and Edurite from Pearson, the world's leading educational and publishing company.
See also
- Khan Academy
- TutorVista
- Hello English
- Embibe
- Simplilearn
- EduKart
- Vedantu
- Entri
- Imarticus_Learning
- Genext Students
External Links
- Official website
- "10 Indian Education Startups to Look Out for in 2017"
- "34 Indian Tech Startups That Have The Potential To Enter The Unicorn Club"
- "[What The Financials] With ARR Of $9.30 Mn And CAGR Of 75% - BYJU'S To Breakeven In Less Than 2 Years"
References
Source of article : Wikipedia
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