Byju founder says his edtech startup, once valued at $22B, is now ‘going to be worth zero’

Byju Raveendran, founder of edtech group Byju’s, admitted Thursday afternoon that he made mistakes, mismanaged the market, grossly overestimated growth opportunities and that his startup, once valued at $22 billion, is now worth “zero.” .

Speaking to a group of reporters, Raveendran said the company’s aggressive acquisition of more than a dozen startups to expand into new markets proved too risky when funding dried up in 2022. Byju’s was planning to go public in early 2022 when several investment banks gave a strong valuation to the company. reaching $50 billion, TechCrunch previously reported.

He revealed that more than 100 of his investors urged him to continue expanding to 40 markets. But, he added, those investors got cold feet when global markets fell following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, sending the stock market into a slump.

Raveendran said many of his investors were “running away,” and the departure of three key backers – Prosus Ventures, Peak XV, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative – from the company’s board last year made it difficult for the company to raise additional funds.

Representatives of the three aforementioned firms and auditor Deloitte left the startup’s board last year, citing governance issues.

Byju’s has since stepped into the shoes of fraud, and Raveendran, who no longer runs the company, said: “It’s zero. What valuation are you talking about? It’s worth zero.”

Byju’s, once India’s most valuable startup, counts 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 among its patrons. . It has raised over $5 billion to date.

Raveendran said that he still hopes that his start will return. “I have nothing to lose. I came from a small village. I invested everything I had in the beginning.”