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Updated July 29th, 2019 at 19:25 IST

Byju’s founder and CEO is India’s newest billionaire, will launch app in the US in 2020 

Byju Raveendran is the face behind Byju’s - The Learning App, the online tutoring app that currently boasts of more than 35 million subscribers

Reported by: Tech Desk
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Byju Raveendran, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Byju’s has become India’s newest billionaire after his Think & Learn Pvt secured a funding of $150 million earlier this month, according to a new Bloomberg report. The latest round of funding from Qatar Investment Authority has raised the valuation of the company to $5.7 billion. Raveendran reportedly owns more than 21 per cent in the company. 

Byju Raveendran is the face behind Byju’s - The Learning App, the online tutoring app that currently boasts of more than 35 million subscribers, over 2.4 million of which pay anything between Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 annually for more premium services. This phenomenal growth – read, profit - is what prompted Raveendran to seek funding from long term investors.  

Raveendran, an engineer by education, started coaching classes for students in 2006. His growing popularity saw him teaching thousands of students inside stadiums, also branching out and going back and forth between cities, before launching Think and Learn in 2011 - Byju’s - The Learning App was launched in 2015. 

Think & Learn Pvt is expected to double its revenue to $435 million in the year ending March 2020, but what speaks in volumes about its popularity and vision more than anything is how it has piqued the interest of some of the biggest venture capitalist giants in the world, from Sequoia Capitals to Tencent Holding, and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.  

Byju’s now has its eyes set on the West – the app will launch in the US in early 2020 in partnership with the Walt Disney Corporation. Back how, it has become the official sponsor of the Indian cricket team. 

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Published July 29th, 2019 at 19:25 IST

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