Byju Raveendran, founder of the once-leading edtech startup Byju’s, has broken his silence on social media platform X, announcing plans to “rise again” by relaunching his company with former employees “sooner than expected.”
The founder of Think & Learn Private Limited (popularly known as Byju’s) had largely remained quiet as his company’s fortunes deteriorated throughout 2023 and 2024, with mounting investor conflicts, financial troubles, and employee hardships. Earlier this month, he made allegations on LinkedIn about “criminal collusion” between an EY India restructuring partner, GLAS Trust, and the court-appointed interim resolution professional.
On his newly verified X account (@ByjuofBYJUS), Raveendran stated he wants to discuss “the good 17, the bad 2 & the ugly 1” years of his company’s journey with “no filters, only facts.” In subsequent posts, he highlighted his company’s role in launching careers, claiming to have hired 215,000 fresh graduates over nine years with minimum annual salaries of Rs 6 lakh each.
The situation represents a dramatic fall for the company once valued at $22 billion in 2022. Raveendran’s personal net worth, which peaked at $3.6 billion in 2022 and stood at $2.1 billion in 2023, has reportedly dropped to zero according to the Forbes Billionaire Index 2024.
Compounding these troubles, a US Bankruptcy Court recently issued a summary judgment against his brother Riju Raveendran and related entities for allegedly defrauding lenders of $533 million.
Despite these challenges, Raveendran remains defiant, posting “Broke, not broken. We will rise again” alongside a picture from his younger days.
