MUMBAI: US-based asset manager BlackRock which holds a minority stake in troubled edtech startup Byju’s has slashed the company’s valuation to $1 billion as of October 2023. This is a 95% drop from its peak valuation of $22 billion at which the startup had raised $250 million in funding from investors in October 2022.
The disclosure was made as part of recent filings made by the US firm’s affiliate BlackRock Global Allocation Fund with the US SEC. Last year, BlackRock had cut the startup’s valuation to $8.4 billion.
The filings showed that BlackRock valued the shares of Byju’s at about $209.6 apiece, down from the peak of $4,660 in 2022, effectively translating into a valuation of $1 billion. The development adds to the spate of valuation markdowns that Byju’s has seen over the past several months. In November last year, the startup’s other investor Prosus had valued it at under $3 billion. Once a celebrated startup, investors have put in more than $5 billion into Byju’s.
The disclosure was made as part of recent filings made by the US firm’s affiliate BlackRock Global Allocation Fund with the US SEC. Last year, BlackRock had cut the startup’s valuation to $8.4 billion.
The filings showed that BlackRock valued the shares of Byju’s at about $209.6 apiece, down from the peak of $4,660 in 2022, effectively translating into a valuation of $1 billion. The development adds to the spate of valuation markdowns that Byju’s has seen over the past several months. In November last year, the startup’s other investor Prosus had valued it at under $3 billion. Once a celebrated startup, investors have put in more than $5 billion into Byju’s.
