Byjus: In five stories: a year of controversy for Byju’s

Byju, India’s most valuable startup, had a torrid 2022 thanks to a series of controversies over its finances, bad loans, governance and layoffs, among other things.

The ETtech team closely followed all the developments surrounding Byju. Here are five stories you must read:

Byju’s losses rise to Rs 4,588 crore in delayed FY21 results

After a delay of almost 18 months,
Byju’s released its audited results for the fiscal year ending March 2021 in September 2022. The company readjusted its operating income to Rs 2,280 crore even as it incurred massive losses of Rs 4,588 crore, up from just Rs 262 crore in the previous fiscal year.

This was a significant 48% drop from projected revenue. Byju Raveendran, founder and CEO of Byju’s,
he attributed it to changes in the business model due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Co-founder Divya Gokulnath also pushed back on media reports about the company’s delayed fiscal 21 financials in a
long LinkedIn post.

Byju’s lays off about 2,500 employees in ‘streamlining’ bid

One month after providing its FY21 audited financial statements 18 months late,
Mass layoffs announced by Byju in October. The firm said it would lay off 2,500 people, or about 5% of its 50,000-person workforce.

Also read:
Byju staff reveal harsh working conditions at edtech giant

Prior to this, the company had fired on
least 600 people from group companies such as Toppr and WhiteHat Jr.

Raveendran later acknowledged in an internal email that the
the dismissal process “was not so smooth” as the company intended.

The firm, which decided to close and lay off 140 employees at its
product development center in ThiruvananthapuramI had to
reverse the decision after the state government intervened.

Access all types of capital to close large multi-million dollar purchases: CEO

Raveendran told ET in an interview in May that the next 12 months would be the best time to acquire companies.

“We are looking at large multi-billion dollar acquisitions… That is why we are accessing all kinds of capital. We are exploring acquisitions in the United States.”

Byju’s raises $800 million at a $22 billion valuation


as part of a
before the IPO round, the company raised $800 million in new financing in May. Founder Byju Raveendran invested $400 million in his personal capacity in the round.

In October, Byju’s closed a
round of financing of 250 million dollars from its existing investors, including the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA). Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital also poured money into India’s highest-value startup.

A few days later, Byju took a
Loan of Rs 300 crore from its subsidiary, Aakash Educational Services.

In December, the startup appointed an adviser to
restructure its $1.2 billion loan. It also deferred Aakash Educational Services’ $1 billion listing plans.

ICAI, NCPCR probe and more

In November, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) said it was
investigating certain “issues” with company financial disclosures.

Lok Sabha Member
Karti Chidambaram had previously raised concerns about the finances of the edtech startup.

Raveendran was later summoned by the National Commission for the Protection of Children’s Rights (NCPCR) over allegations of malpractice by the company’s sales team.

Read:
‘Loss after loss’: Parents detail how Byju pushed them into debt

Later, NCPCR Chairman Priyank Kanoongo told ET that Byju’s
launch an ‘affordability’ test for parents to better understand your financial bandwidth.

Read also |
Byju is buying phone numbers of children, parents and threatening them: NCPCR chief

stay on top of technology Y startup news That matters. Subscribe Join our daily newsletter for the latest and must-have tech news delivered straight to your inbox.