Chan Zuckerberg Initiative invests in Indian startup that teaches kids online
Mark Zuckerberg's philanthropy arm, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, is making an investment in India-based startup Byju’s. The education startup offers personalized learning and assessment services to students.
Apart from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Sequoia Capital, and existing backers Sofina, Lightspeed Ventures, and Times Internet Ltd participated in the $50 million investment round. This marks the first investment from Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, formed last year, in the Asian market. Founded in 2011, Byju’s provides mats and science learning programs for middle and high school students. In addition, the startup also prepares students for some of the most sought after educational competitive exams in the country such as JEE, CAT, IAS, and GMAT among others. It has raised about $150 million so far.
Byju’s offers interactive video lectures and other study materials through its website and apps, giving students the comfort of taking classes from wherever they want and when. It provides many of its services to users for free, but offers additional guidance and feedback to its paid customers. It has over 250,000 annual paid subscribers with over 5.5 million downloads of its app. "Byju's was started by a teacher and entrepreneur named Byju Raveendran as a way to help students from different backgrounds across India learn in a way that works best for them. The mobile app uses a mix of video lessons and interactive tools to help teach subjects like math and science for a fraction of what other services cost," Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a Facebook post. "I'm optimistic about personalized learning and the difference it can make for students everywhere. That's why it's a major focus of our education efforts, and why we're looking forward to working with companies like BYJU's to get these tools into the hands of more students and teachers around the world," he added. With the new capital inflow, Byju’s plans to take its services to global markets including the United States and United Kingdom, and also introduce subjects beyond science and math. It currently serves students from class 6 to 12, but plans to extend it to class 4 and 5 as well.
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