Byju Raveendran | |
|---|---|
 Byju Raveendran in 2017 | |
| Born | 5 January 1980 |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Education | B-Tech |
| Alma mater | Government College of Engineering, Kannur |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Title | Founder & CEO of Byju's |
| Spouse | Divya Gokulnath |
Byju Raveendran (born 5 January 1980) [1] is an Indian entrepreneur, investor and educator who, with his wife Divya Gokulnath, co-founded Byju's.
Byju was born on 5 January 1980 in the Azhikode [1] [2] village of Kerala, India to Raveendran and Shobhanavalli, physics and mathematics teachers, respectively. [3] [4] He studied at a Malayalam medium school where his mother was a mathematics teacher and his father a physics teacher. [5] [6] He would skip classes and then learn at home. [7] [8]
After completing his B.Tech from the Government College of Engineering, Kannur, he joined a multinational shipping company as a service engineer. [3] During a vacation in 2003, he helped his friends who were studying for the CAT exam. [6] He then took the CAT exam and scored in the 99th percentile. [6] When he took the exam again, he again scored in the 99th percentile. [9] Two years later, he continued helping people study for the CAT exam and, based on the good results, decided to quit his job. [6]
In 2007, Byju founded the test preparation business Byju's Classes, [6] and the company grew to stadium-size classes. [10] In 2011, he founded Byju's with his wife, Divya Gokulnath, [5] whom he met while she was a student in his exam preparation class. [11] [12]
In 2015, as smartphone screen sizes increased, Byju's launched an app developed by Byju for students to learn on handheld devices. [13] [6] [14] [15] In October 2018, the app expanded to the United Kingdom, the United States and other English-speaking countries. [16] By July 2022, the app had been downloaded more than 150 million times, and on average, its users spent 71 minutes on the app every day. [17]
In 2021, Byju was heading advanced talks to acquire Vedantu for around $600-$700 million, but the deal didn't get through due to pending regulatory approvals. [18]
According to Forbes , as of 2020, Byju, his wife Divya Gokulnath, and his brother Riju Raveendran have a combined net worth of $3.4 billion. [19] In January 2021, he was added to the National Startup Advisory Council as a non-official member. [20] In April 2021, Byju's purchased the Indian test-prep provider Aakash Educational Services Ltd. for nearly US$ 1 billion. [21] [22]
In July 2022, Byju invested $400 million in BYJU'S during a venture capital financing round. [23]
On 1 February 2024, multiple shareholders were reported to have signed a notice calling for a general meeting to address various issues at BYJU'S, including requests to change the company's board of directors and leadership. [24] In February 2024, India's economic intelligence and law enforcement entity Enforcement Directorate issued a look out notice against Raveendran. [25] On 23 February, shareholders voted to remove Byju as CEO, and he stated afterwards that the vote was invalid due to a lack of a quorum. [26] A previous court ruling placed the implementation of the shareholder vote on hold until after further review on 13 March 2024. [26] [27]
Byju Raveendran’s once-thriving ed-tech empire has faced a series of significant challenges that have threatened its future. Financial struggles, including a sharp decline in valuation to below $1 billion, investor backlash, and mounting regulatory issues, have put the company in a precarious position. Legal scrutiny, particularly around its financial practices, further compounded the situation. Internally, Byju’s was rocked by high-profile resignations, layoffs, and a noticeable decline in employee morale, signaling deeper issues with leadership and company culture. These setbacks, alongside growing internal discord and a loss of investor confidence, have raised doubts about the company’s ability to recover and regain its former dominance in the ed-tech space.
Byju married Divya Gokulnath, one of his early students, in 2009. Together they have two sons. [28]
| Year | Title | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | The Indian Express IT Awards | [29] |
| 2019 | Manorama News Newsmaker award | [30] |
| 2020 | Ernst & Young Finalist, Entrepreneur of the Year, India and Winner, Business Transformation Award | [31] [32] |
| 2020 | Fortune Magazine's '40 Under 40' list | [33] |
| 2021 | Forbes India Leadership Award (FILA) Entrepreneur for the Year | [34] |
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