Byju’s said it has raised $250 million in new funding from existing lenders as the Indian edtech giant appears to be navigating the market downturn that has forced the company to delay its IPO.

The new funding valued the Bengaluru-headquartered startup at $22 billion, the same amount it raised in a funding round in March this year, said a person familiar with the matter.

The company declined to comment on the valuation, but said Qatar’s sovereign fund, Qatar Investment Authority, participated in the round. It did not identify any other lenders. Byju Raveendran, Byju’s founder and chief executive, told australiabusinessblog.com in an earlier interview that the startup partnered with existing sovereign wealth funds to put together a new round.

Monday’s funding announcement follows Byju’s plan to eliminate 5% of its workforce, or about 2,500 positions, across multiple departments and cut its marketing budgets as it seeks to improve its finances and achieve profitability by the end of its current fiscal year. .

“Byju’s is now at that good point in its growth story where unity economy and economies of scale are both in its favor,” Raveendran said in a statement today.

“This means that the capital we are now investing in our business will result in profitable growth and create a sustainable social impact. Regardless of the adverse macroeconomic conditions, 2022-23 will be our best year in terms of sales, growth and profitability. Continued support from our valued investors reaffirms the impact we have created so far and validates our path to profitability.”

(More to follow)