Grapevine: Byju’s valuation may bump up to $10 bn; Grofers to raise funding

By Ankit Agarwal

  • 04 May 2020
Credit: Pexels

Think and Learn Pvt. Ltd, which operates ed-tech platform Byju’s, is in talks to raise up to $400 million (Rs 3,030 crore at current exchange rate) in fresh capital at a valuation of $10 billion (Rs 75,760 crore), three people aware of the matter told TechCrunch.

New capital would come as an extension of an ongoing round that involved participation from existing investors Tiger Global and General Atlantic a little more than a couple of months back at an increased valuation of $8 billion.

The company crossed the $5 billion valuation mark last year in March when it raised close to $31.3 million from existing investors.

If the deal goes through, it would make Byju’s the second-most valuable startup in India.

Meanwhile, online grocery delivery startup Grofers is looking to raise up to $70 million (Rs 530 crore at current exchange rate) in new funding from existing investors SoftBank, Apoletto Asia, Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global, persons in the know told The Economic Times.

The company raised a round of $200 million last year from existing investors. The current round is being raised at a similar valuation of around $650 million, the persons said.

As part of the new financing, Grofers is enhancing its employee stock ownership plan (Esop) pool by pumping in another $25 million (Rs 190 crore) to attract and retain talent, the people added.

“The company is in talks with external investors as well, which is when the valuation may see a jump, but that may take longer since their existing shareholders are ready to plough additional funds,” one of the persons said.