The valuation of India’s largest edtech startup, which received investment from Mirae Asset, has plummeted by 86 percent in a year. Experts estimate that Mirae Asset, which invested in the company in 2021, has lost over 80 percent of its investment.
India’s largest edtech startup “Byju’s,” which Mirae Asset invested in, was recently valued at less than US$3 billion, according to TechCrunch and other major overseas media outlets. This figure is an 86 percent plunge from the US$22 billion valuation the company was given when it was funded early last year.
Byju’s is an online education startup based in Bengaluru, India. It grew to 150 million members during the COVID-19 pandemic as demand for contactless education surged. In 2020-2021, the company spent about US$2.5 billion to acquire education companies such as Aakash and Great Learning.
However, as the endemic slowed down demand for online education, the performance of Byju’s deteriorated significantly. Its operating losses surged 18 times year-on-year to 45.8 billion rupees (US$550 million) in 2021.
Mirae Asset Securities’ Indian subsidiary invested 1.38 billion rupees in Byju’s in September 2021. At the time, its recognized valuation stood at US$16.8 billion. The company lost 82.1 percent of the US$16.8 billion in value, based on the latest adjusted valuation (US$3 billion), experts say.