Indian edtech giant Byju’s is in talks with existing investors and new investors to raise about $250 million for its tutoring service subsidiary Aakash Educational Services (AESL), according to people familiar with the matter.

Byju’s declined to comment on the fundraising activity.

To date, Byju’s has raised total funding of $5.8 billion from investors like Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), Sumeru Ventures, Vitruvian Partners, BlackRock, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Sequoia, Silver Lake, Bond Capital, Tencent, General Atlantic and Tiger Global. 

Byju’s acquired AESL in 2021 for $1 billion.  AESL is now eyeing an initial public offering by next year.

Last month, Byju’s reportedly handed the pink slip to about 1,000 employees in a fresh round of layoffs, although sources in the company said the move was part of the "optimisation" strategy that the edtech firm had announced last year that included sacking 2,500 workers.

Early this year Byju’s reportedly sought more time from lenders to renegotiate an agreement governing a $1.2 billion loan that is in breach of covenants, according to people familiar with the matter. Last year in December, a group of creditors of Byju’s told the edtech giant to liquidate its assets in the USA worth about $500-800 million to repay a part of a $1.2-billion loan if the firm is not able to provide the money from its cash reserves, according to sources in the know.