DNA TV Show: How Byju's, once India's most valued startup, witnessed drastic decline

From a small coaching centre, Byju's, the country's first and largest Ed-Tech company, changed the meaning of coaching in the country. With expert teachers, Hitech Classrooms, up-to-date APP, Byju's came to be called the biggest brand ambassador of the digital education revolution in the country. But then suddenly Byju's bad times started.

Now the situation is that ED has asked the Bureau of Immigration (BOI) to issue a lookout notice against Byju Raveendran, founder and CEO of Edtech firm Byju's. This means ED wants that Ravindran should not be allowed to leave the country. Before this, a lookout circular on intimation is already going on against Byju's owner Raveendran.

Byju's has been in trouble for a long time. The company even reached the verge of bankruptcy. But why did this happen? Today, we will tell you the complete timeline of Byju's transition from India's most valued startup to now cash-trapped startup.

ED had registered a case against Byju's parent company Think & Learn Private Ltd and its owner Ravindran in November 2023 under FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act). This case is of around Rs 9,362 crore. It is alleged that Byju's parent company sent this money outside India and invested it abroad. Due to this, the central government suffered loss of revenue. This simply means Byju's owner Ravindran is accused of wrongly sending money earned in the country abroad. Due to this Byju's suffered the consequences. Two more big things have happened with Byju's in recent times.

The first is that the BCCI has started bankruptcy proceedings against Byju's. It is accused of defaulting in payment of Rs 158 crore in the sponsorship contract of the Indian cricket team. And secondly, Byju's valuation has decreased by 86 per cent in the last one and a half years. In 2022, the company's worth was Rs 30600 crores, which is now Rs 833 crores. The company does not even have money to pay salaries to its employees.