Byju's — BrandWiki

Byju's

Overview

Think and Learn Private Limited

trading name	Byju's
type	Private
industry	Edtech
founded	2011
defunct	October 2024
fate	Entered insolvency proceedings / valuation collapsed to 0‡R1R‡
founders	Byju Raveendran Divya Gokulnath
hq location city	Bangalore, Karnataka
hq location country	India
area served	Worldwide
key people	Byju Raveendran (CEO) Divya Gokulnath (Director)‡R2R‡
products	BYJU'S – The Learning App
revenue	inr 52980000000 (FY22)‡R3R‡
net income	inr -82450000000 (FY22)
num employees	10,000+ (2024)
subsid	Osmo TutorVista (Rebranded as iRobot Tutor TV STEM) HashLearn WhiteHat Jr LabInApp Scholr Aakash Institute Toppr Whodat Tynker Epic! Great Learning Superset GradeUp (Rebranded as Byju's Exam Prep) GeoGebra
website	https://byjus.com/

Byju's (stylised as BYJU'S) was an Indian multinational educational technology company, headquartered in Bengaluru.[4] It was founded in 2011 by Byju Raveendran and Divya Gokulnath. At its peak, it was the world's most valuable edtech startup, with a valuation of $22 billion in 2022. However, by October 2024, multiple media reports indicated that its valuation had effectively dropped to zero.[5][6] As of April 2023, BYJU'S claimed to have over 150 million registered students.[7]

In 2024, the company faced severe financial and operational challenges due to which it laid off approximately 500 employees, mainly from its sales and marketing departments.[8]

Acquisitions

In July 2017, Think and Learn acquired TutorVista (including Edurite) from Pearson.[54][55][56]

In January 2019, Byju's acquired American-based Osmo, a maker of educational games for children aged 3–8 years for US$120 million.[57]

In July 2020, Byju's also acquired Indian startup WhiteHat Jr for US$300 million.[58]

In September 2020, Byju's acquires virtual labs simulation startup LabInApp.[59][60][61]

In February 2021, Byju's acquires Mumbai-based doubt clearing platform Scholr.[62]

In April 2021, Byju's acquired test prep firm Aakash Educational Services Ltd. in an estimated US$950 million cash and stock deal. Aakash's founders and Blackstone Group will receive minority stakes in Byju's as part of the deal.[63][64]

In July 2021, Byju's acquired American-based kids learning platform Epic! in a US$500 million cash-and-stock deal. The Epic acquisition was part of Byju's foray into the overseas market, from where it expects annual revenue of US$300 million per financial year.[65]

In July 2021, Byju's acquired Singapore-based higher education platform Great Learning at a cost of US$600 million and after-school learning app Toppr.[66]

In September 2021, Byju's acquired two startups including online test preparation platform Gradeup for an undisclosed price and rebranded it to BYJU’S Exam Prep[67][68] and American based coding platform Tynker for US$200 million.[69][70]

In December 2021, Byju's acquired GeoGebra in a US$100 million cash-and-stock deal.[71]

In February 2022, Byju's-owned upskilling platform Great Learning acquires Bengaluru-based campus recruitment platform Superset.[72]

To date, Byju's spent at least $2.8 billion on a dozen acquisitions to expand beyond the original learning app and bring together its services that will allow it to reach learners of all ages. For example, it has ventured into exam preparation, higher education MOOCs, and tuition centers. In addition, it has acquired several additional platforms that offer virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and educational gaming services, most of which occurred in 2021.[36]

Financials

Byju's received seed funding from Aarin Capital in 2013.[73] As of 2019, Byju's had secured nearly $785 million in funding from investors, including Sequoia Capital India, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), Tencent, Sofina, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Qatar Investment Authority,[74] Verlinvest, IFC, Naspers Ventures, CPPIB and General Atlantic.[22][75][76] Byju's was the first company in Asia to receive an investment from Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative (co-funded by Meta Platforms co founder, chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan).[77][78][79] As per the company filings with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Byju's became a unicorn and was valued at ₹6,505 crore ($1 billion) as of March 2018.[80][75] In June 2020, Byju's attained the decacorn status with an investment by Mary Meeker's Bond Capital.[81] In March 2022 Byju's raised $800 million, reaching a valuation of $22 billion.[82]

In September 2020, Byju's replaced Oppo as the title sponsor of the India national cricket team.[83] Byju's operates roughly on a premium business model where a paid subscription is required for most of the content.[38] In 2017, Byju's generated revenues of about ₹260 crore (US$40 million or €33 million) and doubled it in 2018 financial year, earning ₹520 crore.[84][85][86] In June 2020, with the investment of Bond, a global technology investment firm, Byju's was regarded as a decacorn with a US$10.5 billion valuation.[87]

In November 2020, Byju's became the title sponsor of the Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters FC replacing Muthoot Group.[88] In November 2020, Byju's raised US$200 million in a fresh funding round led by BlackRock and T. Rowe Price at a valuation of $12 billion.[89] In March 2021, Byju's secured $460m in a series F funding round.[90] In April 2021, B Capital, Baron Funds, and XN invested $1 billion in Byju's.[91] In June 2021, Byju's raised $50 million in a Series F round from IIFL's private equity fund and Maitri Edtech.[92] In October 2021, Byju's raised $296 million as a part of its Series F round from Oxshott Venture Fund, Edelweiss Group

In 2022 Byjus laid off nearly 4000 people from its team amid funding crunch and road to profitability.[96]

Byju's was experiencing a severe funding crunch as of December 2023. The business was at odds with US lenders over unpaid interest on a $1.2 billion term loan. Byju's listed two important assets for sale in an effort to raise between $800 million and $1 billion to help with its financial difficulties.[97]

Byju's laid off almost 4,000 employees in 2022 as a result of a lack of funding, hoping to shift toward profitability. In addition, the business is dealing with litigation and grievances regarding its products, services, and business practices from clients, employees, and competitors.

Byju Raveendran, the company's founder and group CEO, stated in November 2023 that the business will keep growing profitably and sustainably in the upcoming years.[98]

On 25 January 2024, lenders began bankruptcy proceedings against Byju's in an effort to repay its loans.[99] On 1 February 2024, Byju's U.S. division filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware. Byju's would raise around $200 million in an effort to clear "immediate liabilities" and for other operational costs at a post-money valuation of $225 million.[100] [101]

On 22 May 2024, a US bankruptcy court penalized Byju's director Riju Ravindran for contempt of court for refusing to disclose the location of $533 million in loan proceeds. The court also prohibited further transfers of these funds and found co-founders Byju Raveendran and Divya Gokulnath complicit. This decision followed a year-long legal battle between Byju's parent company, Think & Learn, and its bondholders.[102]

On 1 August 2024, Byju's director Riju Ravindran was ordered by a US bankruptcy judge to pay $10,000 a day until he helped locate the $533 million the company was accused of hiding from its U.S. lenders.[103]

In July 2024, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) appointed an Insolvency Resolution Professional to oversee Byju's day-to-day affairs. This came after BCCI sought initiation of the insolvency proceedings against Byju's over unpaid dues of Rs.158 crore.[104][105] The order was later quashed by NCLAT Chennai after the two parties agreed to a settlement.[106][107]

On October 23, 2023, the Supreme Court of India set aside an NCLAT judgment that had closed insolvency proceedings against Byju's parent company, Think & Learn. The case was initiated by US-based creditor Glas Trust over a ₹158 crore debt. The Court ruled that proper procedures were not followed by NCLAT and directed that funds in escrow be moved to the Committee of Creditors.

Criticism

Libel suits

Byju's was criticized for charging fees that only the rich can afford.[117] Former salespeople say the company pushes its products on parents who cannot afford them.[118][119] Byju's filed a ₹20 crore defamation suit against critic Pradeep Poonia. They later withdrew the lawsuit.[120][121]

Advertising and sales practices

Byju's subsidiary WhiteHat Jr. was asked to remove their five TV advertisements by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) due to misleading advertisements[122] and hard sales tactics.[123] WhiteHat Jr. claimed that a child named "Wolf Gupta" bagged job offers worth millions of rupees in multiple social media advertisements. This child was often described to be between the ages of 6 and 14 years. Investigations later revealed that this was all fabricated and Mr. "Gupta" is a work of fiction.[124]

The company had filed a inr 20000000 defamation suit against Pradeep Poonia in November 2020, a software engineer, who alleged that the company made false claims and hired incompetent teachers.[125] It was later withdrawn.[126] It has also been the subject of a data leak, where the personal information of over 200,000 users was exposed.[127]

Byju's offered a trial period with a 100% down payment refund. The company helped parents purchase expensive courses through easy loans from partner lenders. While Byju's receives the full fee upfront, parents must continue paying EMIs via direct debit, and the subscription is not canceled even if they are dissatisfied with the course or teachers.[128][129][130]

The Department of Consumer Affairs voiced concerns on 24 June 2022, at India Edtech Consortium (IEC) meeting regarding aggressive sales practices and deceptive marketing strategies utilized by EdTech companies, particularly Byju's and the entities that make up its group. DCA advised Byju's to work closely with the ASCI based on the complaints against it.[131] According to the reports, Byju's team has pledged to resolve these grievances with a detailed action plan.[132]

Accounting practices

Previously, BYJU's used a different revenue recognition practice, which they had to change and obtain approval in accordance with Indian Accounting Standards (Ind-AS) 115 guidelines. For example, revenue expected in one fiscal year for a multi-year charge cannot be considered as revenue in that year alone. This discrepancy was eventually flagged by the auditor and a change was sought by the latter.[133] As of September 2022, BYJU's began recognising streaming revenue across the term of usage, which was previously recognised fully upon the start of the contract. These new accounting standards have resulted in a reduction in the amount of income that Byju's is able to book in advance.[134]

Also, in the past, BYJU's used its funding capital to acquire both domestic and overseas businesses and group them under its brand. And, lately investors voiced scepticism regarding this very plan to rapidly deploy capital in order to grow internationally.[134]

Criminal allegations

In April 2023, Indian authorities conducted a raid on the Bengaluru office of the firm, suspecting violations of foreign exchange laws. In addition to denying any wrongdoing, the company assured its employees of full compliance with the laws. In May, the company faced a lawsuit from lenders in a US court, alleging defaults on payments and breaches of the loan agreement, including significant delays in releasing financial statements. Byju's denied the accusations of fund diversion through its US-based subsidiary, Alpha. In June, following the alleged non-payment of an interest installment of nearly $40 million, Byju's counter sued the lenders for harassment and initiated a new round of layoffs, resulting in the termination of around a thousand employees. The company faced further challenges as its auditors, Deloitte Haskins and Sells, resigned citing the delayed submission of financial statements, hindering their ability to assess the company's accounts. Subsequently, three board members resigned, leaving CEO Byju Raveendran, his wife Divya Gokulnath, and brother Riju Ravindran as the remaining members on the board.[135][136]

In February 2024, India's economic intelligence and law enforcement entity Enforcement Directorate issued a look out notice against CEO Byju Raveendran.[137]