Eruditus stands out as Prosus’ only major edtech investment with positive returns

Edtech unicorn Eruditus stands out as the only major edtech investment delivering positive returns for Netherlands-based Prosus, as highlighted in its H1 FY25 financial results.

The Ashwin Damera-led edtech firm generated a 14% internal rate of return (IRR) in H1 FY25. IRR is the percentage return an investment is expected to make each year. It helps investors decide if a project or investment is worth it.

Eruditus, which collaborates with universities globally to offer professional learning programmes for working professionals, secured $150 million in funding a few months ago.

Earlier this year, Prosus wrote off its entire investment in the struggling edtech company BYJU’S. The company had invested $578 million in the Byju Raveendran-led firm, with nearly $400 million from its initial 2018 investment round, and held over a 10% stake until mid-2022.

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Globally, Prosus has invested in several edtech companies, including Stack Overflow, Skillsoft, GoodHabitz, and Brainly. The consolidated revenue from its edtech investments grew by 20% year-on-year to $85 million, while trading losses narrowed by $53 million, resulting in a loss of $13 million.

“The edtech businesses continue to work on improving financial performance amid the disruptive impact of the broad adoption of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) on its revenue pool,” Prosus said in a statement.

Beyond edtech firm Eruditus, Prosus’ other Indian investments include ElasticRun, Meesho, and PharmEasy. ElasticRun, an integrated B2B ecommerce platform, showed a positive 23% IRR, while ecommerce marketplace Meesho saw a 20% IRR in H1 FY25. However, online pharmacy startup PharmEasy faced a negative 38% IRR during the same period.