Edtech major Byju’s is in discussion with several investors to increase $1-1.5 billion at a valuation of nearly $21 billion. The major is known as India’s most valuable startup. The new valuation is a 27 per cent raised from the $16.5 billion valuation that it had achieved after the funding round in June that saw investments from UBS Group, Blackstone, Abu Dhabi's ADQ, Zoom founder Eric Yuan's family office and Phoenix Rising - Beacon Holdings.

The fundraising is likely to be closed within a month, said people aware of the developments as per a report. The spurt in the edtech major’s valuation comes from the online learning boom amid pandemic lockdowns.

Not only has Byju Raveendran’s edtech firm garnered generous fundings from investors, it has also gone on an acquisition spree. It bought Aakash Educational Services for $1 billion, Great Learning for $600 million, Epic for $500 million, Whodat for an undisclosed amount within months.

One of the people in the know told the daily that at least four novel large funds are coming in and a few existing investors too are likely to increase their stake in the firm. The firm is also formulating its IPO plans, something that has excited investors, they said. Byju’s is yet to comment officially.

Raveendran had hinted at Byju’s initial public offering at an interview in April, when he said that the firm would go for IPO in 18-24 months.

While the firm had been doing well earlier too, the past two years have boosted its growth pace. It added around 25 million users throughout this period.