Foundation of BYJU’S
In 2007, Byju founded the test preparation business Byju's Classes,[6] and the company grew to stadium-size classes.[10]
In 2011, Raveendran co-founded Think & Learn Pvt. Ltd., which serves as the parent entity for the educational platform BYJU'S.[5] The company’s initial operations centered on the delivery of video-based preparatory modules for competitive examinations.[11] Following this phase, the firm transitioned into the K-12 segment, integrating school-level curricula into its digital infrastructure.[12]
In 2015, the company introduced the Byju's mobile application, shifting its primary delivery model from physical classrooms to a digital interface. The platform integrated video-based instruction with interactive modules, aimed at translating academic curricula into a digital format for school-level students.[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 2016, Byju Raveendran through his startup Byjus (THink & Learn Pvt Ltd) became the only startup in India to receive funding from Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla chan's foundation Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.[18]
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.[19]
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.[20] In January 2021, he was added to the National Startup Advisory Council as a non-official member.[21] In April 2021, Byju's purchased the Indian test-prep provider Aakash Educational Services Ltd. for nearly US$1 billion.[22][23]
In 2022, as a part of Byju Raveendran's company Byju's $800Million funding round, Byju Raveendran(CEO & co-founder) invested $400Million from his personal savings and assets into the company and increased his equity to 25%. Global investment firms like Blackrock, Sumeru Ventures, Vitruvian Partners also invested in this round.[24][25]
Between 2013 and 2023, Byju Raveendran through his company bought a Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of Rs 28000 Cr which is the highest FDI inflow by an indian startup.[26][27]
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.[28] In February 2024, India's economic intelligence and law enforcement entity Enforcement Directorate issued a look out notice against Raveendran.[29] 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.[30] A previous court ruling placed the implementation of the shareholder vote on hold until after further review on 13 March 2024.[30][31]
