Byju’s, India’s most valuable edtech startup’s founder acknowledged Thursday afternoon that his startup once valued at $22 billion, is now effectively worth “zero” as it faces insolvency.
Overestimated growth, mistiming the market and other slips caused the company’s downfall, said Byju Raveendran.
Byju’s rose to popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic by offering virtual education courses and its service expanded to more than 21 countries. In 2022, its valuation hit a thumping $22 billion but has faced increasing allegations of unpaid dues and mismanagement, which the edtech startup denies.
“The company is worth zero. What valuation are you talking about? It is zero,” Raveendran said during an interaction with reporters via video conferencing from Dubai.
Reuters reported that this was Raveendran’s first media briefing in 18 months. “We overestimated potential growth, entered lot of markets together. It was little too much, too soon,” he said.
Byju’s went into insolvency after U.S. lenders took to the Indian Supreme Court in August to file a dispute of misusing $1 billion borrowed by the company.
Byju’s list of global investors include BlackRock, UBS, Lightspeed, QIA, Bond, Silver Lake, Sofina, Verlinvest, Tencent, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, General Atlantic, Tiger Global, Owl Ventures, and World Bank’s IFC.
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The Supreme Court is yet to rule on Glas Trust’s, which represents the protesting investors and lenders, legal dispute with Byju’s.
Raveendran denied all allegations of wrongdoing during his media appearance.
Raveendran went from an Indian mathematician and teacher to a billionaire entrepreneur before his edtech startup reached new lows earlier this year including boardroom exits and a public spat with global investors over delayed financial disclosures and mismanagement.
Despite it all, Raveendran remains hopeful that his startup will make a comeback, saying “I have nothing to lose. I came from a small village. I invested everything I had into the startup.”