Once a shining start in Indian start-up ecosystem that attracted global investors, Byju’s has spent years in navigating a maze of financial setbacks and courtroom battles. Yet amid the chaos, founder Byju Raveendran indicated that the edtech giant will rewrite its original narrative. “We don’t belong in courtrooms. We belong in classrooms. That’s where we started, and that’s where we’re going back,” he told ANI.
To be more precise, Raveendran revealed the company’s next move ---- Byju’s 3.0 ---- with a message rooted in purpose over profit. The founder stated that his focus only remains on students, teachers, and the transformative power of learning. “I am so excited to talk to you about Byju’s 3.0....there is so much respect for teachers and learning,” he told the newswire in an exclusive interview.
Despite setbacks, Raveendran believes that the responsibility of rebuilding the edtech start-up lies with him because the founders owe it to students, teachers, and employees who trusted them. “Byju’s 3.0 will stay true to our original mission,” he said, while remaining close-mouthed about the exact form of Byju’s 3.0.
However, he clarified his principles which remain focused on teachers and students. “We will leverage AI to enhance teachers, not replace them. We will be focused on uplifting underperforming students.....everything we’ll do will create an impact at a scale which we’ve not been to do before,” Raveendran told ANI.
"I'm stubborn when it comes to the mission. It's going to be the same. How do we make it easy and interesting for students? How can we use AI not to replace teachers but to enable teachers to become better teachers? How can we move the bottom quartile of students to the next one or to the next one?" he added.
Byju’s Mounted Troubles
Speaking about the company’s legal and financial troubles, Raveendran said some of the investors tried to shape the public narrative to shield themselves from potential legal consequences as the start-up came under litigation. While acknowledging challenges in the future, he said the mission of the edtech remains unwavering.
Raveendran emphasised that building Byju's from the ground up into a platform valued at USD 20 billion, serving millions of students, is a remarkable accomplishment that remains an integral part of the company's legacy—something no one can take away.
"We built this company from the ground up, from 0 to 20 billion, from a handful of students to hundreds of millions. That is something nobody can take away from us," he told ANI.
Byju's was valued at $22bn back in 2022. However, now it is under legal disputes with lenders over $1bn in unpaid debts in both the US and India courts. It led to insolvency proceedings initiated by the BCCI ((Board of Control for Cricket in India) over unpaid sponsorship dues.
