Indian edtech titan Byju’s announces that it has raised US$250 million from existing investors including Qatar Investment Authority – the sovereign wealth fund of the state of Qatar.

Last Wednesday, Byju’s claimed that it will eliminate 5% of its workforce, or about 2,500 roles, across multiple departments including product, content, media, and technology teams, and is cutting its marketing budgets as to improve finances and achieve profitability by the end of the current financial year. And the new capital infusion just follows the announcement of the significant layoff.

To note, this is the second significant layoff of the company undertaking in recent months. In June, it cut hundreds of jobs. The move comes amid the ongoing global market downturn, which has forced many startups, including Byju’s, to postpone their plans to file for an initial public offering.

“Despite the major headwinds brought by current macroeconomic conditions, this year through 2023 is set to be the company’s “best year in terms of revenue, growth, and profitability,” said Byju Raveendran, the edtech firm’s founder and CEO.

To achieve profitability by early next year, Byju’s will have a three-pronged approach.  It is retargeting its marketing budget towards overseas markets, wherein all K10 subsidiaries, including Toppr, Meritnation, TutorVista, HashLearn, and Scholar, will be consolidated into one business unit. 

And Aakash Education (physical test prep unit) as well as Great Learning (upskilling) will continue to operate as standalone independent units. The company added that the two units have been doubling their revenue since their acquisition.

Meanwhile, the company added that it plans to hire a total of 10,000 more teachers in the coming year, boosting its current headcount of 20,000 teachers. It is also reworking on its sales model by creating multiple inside sales hubs across India, where sales associates can reach out to incoming leads virtually in order to reduce costs.