Gautam Thakar steps down as Prosus’ global edtech chief; to focus on Indian opportunities while staying on some boards
Ashutosh Sharma, head of Prosus India ecosystem, is taking on wider duties; no formal successor named yet
Thakar led Prosus’s $4bn+ edtech portfolio, overseeing investments from OLX Brazil and Stack Overflow to Brainly, Emeritus and PayU
Gautam Thakar, chief executive of Prosus’ global edtech vertical and a global operating partner at the Dutch investor, has stepped down from his full-time role and said he will concentrate on opportunities in India, Economic Times reported.
Thakar, who told reporters he wants “to focus my time now on the exciting Indian market opportunity” after nearly 25 years in global leadership roles, will remain a board member at some portfolio companies, the report stated. The announcement follows his two-year stint running Prosus’s $4bn-plus edtech practice.
Internal Handover
Two people close to the firm told Mint that Ashutosh Sharma, head of Prosus’s India ecosystem, has been taking on broader operational responsibilities and is expected to assume larger duties inside the edtech vertical as the group reorganises leadership. Prosus has not named a formal replacement.
At Prosus, Thakar oversaw a wide range of internet and edtech investments, from OLX Brazil, Takealot and Stack Overflow to Brainly, Emeritus and the firm’s India bets such as PayU, and he led the edtech portfolio through a period of sharp valuation corrections and strategic pivots following the sector’s turbulence.
Prosus’s India Push
Prosus remains heavily invested in India, having committed roughly $8.6 billion to local companies, even as the group wrote down its stake in Byju’s last year amid the latter’s crisis.
The write-off of Prosus’s exposure to Byju’s underscored the broader shake-up across global edtech and prompted a scaling back of some programs inside the firm.
Thakar’s departure comes at a sensitive moment for edtech investors: firms are re-thinking portfolio strategy after high-profile failures and valuation resets, while India remains a priority growth market for Prosus.
The leadership change will be watched for signals on whether Prosus accelerates new local bets (for example, vernacular or AI-driven learning startups) or further pares back global exposure.
