Why Byju Raveendran Dropped Off The Forbes Billionaires Index

Byju Raveendran, whose company was once the poster child of India's startup ecosystem, has dropped off the Forbes Billionaires Index as his fortunes continue to plummet. According to the list, his net worth has now fallen to zero.

Mr Raveendran had a net worth of $2.1 billion (Rs 17,545 crore) and featured on the rich list last year, but did not make the cut this year. He was among the four people from last year's list who dropped off this year.

Explaining the sharp fall in Byju Raveendran's net worth, Forbes said, that his firm Byju's was enveloped in multiple crises and its valuation was marked down by BlackRock to $1 billion, a fraction of its peak $22 billion valuation in 2022."

The report goes on to elaborate on the downfall of Byju's saying, "(Byju) Raveendran cofounded learning app Byju's, once India's most valuable startup, in 2011 and led its acquisitions of other education startups. In January, Byju posted its long-delayed results for the fiscal year ending March 2022, showing a net loss topping $1 billion."

"BlackRock slashed its valuation of Byju's to about $1 billion, down from the firm's $22 billion valuation in 2022, amid the company's struggle to secure capital and allegations of accounting irregularities. Byju's shareholders voted to oust Raveendran as CEO in February," the Forbes report adds.

Back in 2006, Byju Raveendran formally launched classes for MBA aspirants preparing for the CAT exam. The edtech firm gradually expanded to undergraduate and then school students. In 2015, the Byju's learning app was launched. In the next four years, it had become the country's first ed-tech unicorn. The Covid pandemic saw rapid expansion of Byju's network as schools were shut, and school teaching shifted online.

Then the troubles began. Allegations of a toxic work atmosphere and aggressive marketing that harassed parents started emerging. Last year, Prosus cut Byju's valuation by 75 per cent, leading to layoffs and allegations of financial mismanagement. At its peak, the firm had spent massively on sponsorship. It sponsored the Indian cricket team, the Football World Cup, and signed football legend Lionel Messi as a global ambassador. Growth slowed down after schools reopened and Byju's stared at towering losses. Late last year, Byju Raveendran had to mortgage personal properties to arrange a loan to pay staff salaries.

The company's shareholders, including Prosus NV and Peak XV Partners, last month voted to oust Mr Raveendran as CEO, escalating a battle over the fate of the once high-flying online tutoring startup that is fighting to remain in business.