Byju’s to pump in $200 mn to expand hybrid tuition model

Kolkata: Byju’s will be pumping USD 200 million over the next two years to expand and build its hybrid tuition business, a senior company official said on Thursday.

The firm valued at USD 22 billion, in March raised USD 800 million (about Rs 6,000 crore) in a funding round participated by funds like Sumeru Ventures, Vitruvian Partners and BlackRock participated in the funding.

We have USD 200 million to invest over the next two years for use in exponential expansion of the ‘Tuition Centre model. We have now 100 centres in 23 cities but by December we will have 500 centres across 190 cities. The next year’s expansion plan is not yet frozen,” Head of Byju’s Tuition Centres, Himanshu Bajaj said.

Byju’s Tuition Centre is a programme for students that brings together the best of offline and online learning experiences, the company said, taking a shift from its online-only model since November last year.

Bajaj said Bengal remains in the top three markets for the company and soon will be expanding in the smaller towns of the state by December.

We will have 20 centres across Bengal by December 2022 from five centres now, of which 10 will be outside Kolkata, he said.

The professional who worked with management consultancy firm Kearney leading its Consumer and Retail practice across Asia-Pacific and other management roles, he aims to enrol some 2.5 to 3 lakh students in the hybrid tuition model in near distant future.

Without disclosing revenue targets, Bajaj said the model focuses on all boards of education for students between grade 4 to 10 and monthly fees ranges between Rs 3500-4000 per month.

All centres will be company owned and company operated for standardised teaching model.

The tech focused firm said it will continue to leverage new technology to teach and learn and was working to introduce virtual reality in near future. The firm already has smart cameras and learning tools to track students’ progress.