Brands
Byju’s raises $460 million in series F funding round
New Delhi : Bengaluru based ed-tech company Byju’s has raised $460 million in its ongoing series F round led by MC Global Ed-tech Investment Holdings LP. The investment now values the ed-tech start-up at around $13 billion, according to regulatory filings.
This is the first fund raise for Byju’s this year as it had raised over $1 billion in 2020. With the development, the holding of the promoters’ group in Byju’s which includes founder and CEO Byju Raveendran and his family now stands at 26.09 per cent.
As many as nine investors participated in the funding round including Tiga Investments, TCDS (India) LP, Arison Holdings, XN Exponent Holdings, Baron Emerging Markets Fund and Baron Global Advantage Fund, according to news portal Entrackr, which first reported the development.
Founded by Byju Raveendran, the start-up is on an acquisition spree ever since it acquired Whitehat Jr in 2020 for $300 million. In January, it signed an acquisition deal with brick-and-mortar Akash Educational Services for $1 billion, which is also believed to be one of the largest ed-tech acquisition deals. It is also in advanced talks to acquire smaller rival Toppr for $150-160 million, according to multiple reports.
The Covid2019 pandemic set the demand soaring for the ed-tech firms like Byju’s which cater to students from kindergarten to Class 12.
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
