BYJU’S is raising about US$300mil (RM1.2bil) in a funding round led by New York-based Tiger Global Management, securing new capital at a valuation of US$8bil for the online education startup’s global expansion.

Tiger has invested about US$150mil in Byju-parent Think and Learn Pvt, according to people familiar with the deal. Existing investors will likely contribute about the same amount.

The new funding round confers on Byju’s the title of India’s most valuable startup after Ant Financial-backed fintech firm Paytm and the budget hotel rooms startup OYO. Byju’s, last valued at about US$5.7bil, overtakes online retailer Snapdeal and is the only one of the top three that hasn’t taken funding from SoftBank Group Corp or its Vision Fund. Paytm rose to the fore after Walmart Inc acquired Flipkart Online Services Pvt – also SoftBank-backed – in a US$16bil deal in 2018.