Byju's
It began with one teacher's classes, reached USD 22 billion and has been in Indian insolvency since 2024
- Founded
- 2011
- Bankruptcy filing
- 2024
- Peak valuation
- $22 billion
- Country
- India
- City
- Bengaluru
- Sector
- Education
- Founders
- Byju Raveendran, Divya Gokulnath
- Investors
- Sequoia Capital India, Tencent, Naspers, BlackRock, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
- At its peak
- USD 22 billion valuation in March 2022, India's most valuable startup
- Main cause
- Ran out of cash
What did it do?
Byju's is the learning app of Think & Learn, the company exam tutor Byju Raveendran and Divya Gokulnath founded in Bengaluru in 2011. It grew fast when schools closed during the pandemic. It bought companies including Aakash, WhiteHat Jr, Epic!, Great Learning, Tynker, Osmo and GeoGebra. Lionel Messi became a brand ambassador and the name went on the Indian cricket team's shirts. In March 2022 an USD 800 million round took its valuation to USD 22 billion.
Why did it file for bankruptcy?
The company took a USD 1.2 billion term loan in November 2021 and spent at least USD 2.8 billion on about a dozen acquisitions. In the 2022 financial year it reported a loss of INR 8,245 crore on revenue of INR 5,298 crore. Deloitte resigned as auditor in 2023, and BlackRock cut its mark repeatedly that year. In July 2024 India's NCLT opened insolvency proceedings on the cricket board's claim for INR 158 crore. BDO, the second auditor, left in September 2024. According to an October 2026 announcement from Kirkland & Ellis, the NCLT approved a settlement with Aakash on 28 September 2026; the outcome of the process is not yet known.
The story
Byju Raveendran was a teacher who filled halls with exam classes. In 2011 he turned those lessons into a company, then an app. When the pandemic shut schools, Byju's began to look like education itself in India.
The company seized the moment by buying. WhiteHat Jr, Aakash, Epic!, Great Learning and Tynker were all acquired in 2020 and 2021, at a cost of at least USD 2.8 billion. A USD 1.2 billion term loan arrived in November 2021, and in March 2022 the valuation reached USD 22 billion.
When schools reopened, the sums changed. The loss for the 2022 financial year reached INR 8,245 crore. Deloitte left in 2023 and BlackRock cut its mark again and again. In July 2024 an INR 158 crore debt left over from a cricket sponsorship pushed the USD 22 billion company into insolvency. In October 2024 Raveendran said the company was worth zero.
As of November 2026 the case continues in the courts, with much of the argument turning on the stake in Aakash.
Lessons for founders
- If you buy on the assumption that pandemic demand is permanent, you pay the debt on the way out. Test a USD 2.8 billion spending spree against normal-year numbers.
- Delaying your accounts costs more than publishing bad ones. The 2022 results ran months late and Deloitte left in 2023; after that every conversation restarted from zero trust.
- Read the terms of an offshore term loan in the worst case. The USD 1.2 billion loan put lenders at the head of the table when the company's future was decided.
Sources
- From $22 billion peak to debt traps and lawsuits: How Byju's empire collapsed over the years (Business Today, 2026-05-28)
- Second Byju's auditor exits in a year as financial turmoil deepens (TechCrunch, 2024-09-06)
- Kirkland advises Think & Learn (BYJU'S) creditors on global settlement with Aakash and Manipal (Kirkland & Ellis, 2026-10-26)
- Byju's (Wikipedia, 2026-11-02)
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