The creator of Byju claims that his $22 billion edtech company is now “worth zero.”
On Thursday afternoon, Byju Raveendran, the founder of the troubled edtech company Byju’s, said that he made mistakes, misjudged the market, overstated the possibility for growth, and that his venture, which was previously valued at $22 billion, is now essentially worth “zero.”
Speaking to reporters, Raveendran
claimed that when funding dried up in 2022, the company’s aggressive strategy of acquiring over two dozen businesses to enter new industries proved disastrous. According to a previous TechCrunch article, Byju’s planned to go public in early 2022, with a number of investment bankers valuing the company at up to $50 billion.
He said that a large number of his more than 100 investors had pushed him to enter up to 40 markets aggressively. However, he noted, those same investors changed their minds when the world markets crashed when Russia invaded Ukraine, which caused the venture capital industry to plummet.
Many of his investors “ran away,” according to Raveendran, and the startup was unable to raise more money last year because three major backers—Prosus Ventures, Peak XV, and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative—left the company’s board.
Last year, Deloitte, the startup’s auditor
Representatives of the three previously named organizations departed the board, alleging governance concerns.
Since Byju’s has gone into insolvency, Raveendran, who is no longer in charge of the business, declared: “It’s worth zero.” What kind of valuation are you referring to? It has no value.
BlackRock, UBS, Lightspeed, QIA, Bond, Silver Lake, Sofina, Verlinvest, Tencent, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, General Atlantic, Tiger Global, Owl Ventures, and the World Bank’s IFC are among the investors in Byju’s, which was formerly the most valuable company in India. To date, it has raised almost $5 billion.
According to Raveendran, he still has hope that his startup will succeed. “I stand to gain nothing. I was raised in a tiny village. I put all of my money into the startup.
Conclusion
The founder of the massive Indian edtech company Byju’s, Byju Raveendran, has admitted that his once $22 billion business is now practically “worth zero.” The company, which grew quickly during the epidemic as a result of a spike in demand for online learning, has faced serious operational and financial difficulties in the last 12 months. Increasing losses, creditor lawsuits, layoffs, and a significant reorganization initiative are some of these difficulties. Once a representation of India’s booming software industry, Byju’s has seen a sharp drop in valuation due to problems with fundraising and corporate governance.
As the corporation works to restore stability in the face of constant criticism from stakeholders and authorities, Raveendran’s candid revelation brings to light the painful realities of its current situation. Nevertheless.
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