BENGALURU: Since Byju's entered insolvency proceedings in July last year, the cash-strapped edtech company has left both employees and students with several unanswered questions, particularly regarding unpaid salaries and compensation. Founder Byju Raveendran has consistently reassured both groups that payments would be made, but many have now lost hope. Former tutors of the company, speaking to The New Indian Express, said they have not received any communication from Byju's for over eight months.
In a recent podcast with a news agency, Raveendran apologised for the disruptions caused by Byju's services. He acknowledged that these disruptions impacted thousands of students. “Millions of students who got our product, happily learned from it and completed their courses. I apologise to those few students who missed out because services were disrupted,” he said. He also mentioned that once the company stabilises, he would look into compensating those students.
A parent, speaking on condition of anonymity, expressed frustration, stating that the app had stopped working, and they were unable to access recorded lectures. "We don’t know whom to contact, as no one is responding to our queries," the parent added, noting that they had paid significant sums in course fees.
Raveendran also shared his vision for Byju's 3.0, a new AI-driven platform, though industry experts have expressed concerns. Ganesh Mahadevan, Partner at Thinksynq, commented, “Byju’s challenge is not its vision but its ability to execute it effectively. The company’s struggles with growth management, financial oversight, and maintaining stakeholder trust have overshadowed its potential. Byju’s 3.0 needs to focus on correcting past mistakes rather than merely rebranding.”
Byju's is facing multiple financial and legal challenges. Last month, Byju's $1.2 billion term loan lenders filed a lawsuit in the US Bankruptcy Court against Raveendran and his wife Divya Gokulnath. The lawsuit claims that the couple orchestrated a scheme to "conceal and steal $533 million of loan proceeds."
However, Raveendran denied the allegations, asserting, “Not a single dollar of the $1.2 billion loan, which we took in November 2021 to expand into international markets and repay by November 2026, has gone into our personal accounts. It has all been used for legitimate business purposes.”
At its peak in 2022, Byju's boasted over 150 million registered learners globally and operated in 120 countries.
