Billion-Dollar Darling To Breakdown: The Rise, Peak And Collapse Of Byju’s — All You Need To Know

Byju’s, once celebrated as India’s premier edtech success story, has spent the past few years entangled in a deepening legal and financial crisis. As its insolvency resolution process is heading towards a decisive phase, here’s a look at the meteoric rise and fall of Byju’s.

Founded in 2011 by Byju Raveendran, Byju’s rolled out its learning app in 2015, offering content for students from kindergarten to class 12. The company quickly rose to prominence. By 2018, it had amassed 15 million subscribers, and by 2019, it had become India’s first edtech unicorn, valued at over $1 billion. In no time, Byju’s became the darling of India’s start-up ecosystem, earning widespread attention for its innovative approach to learning.

The company expanded rapidly during the Covid-19 pandemic, as students turned to online classes during nationwide lockdowns.

July 2017: Byju’s acquired TutorVista, Edurite from Pearson, one of the largest online tutoring platforms for school and college students, primarily in the United States.  

January 2019: Byju’s acquired US-based Osmo, a blended learning educational games creator for children aged 3-8 years, for $120 million.

July 2020: Byju’s acquired WhiteHat Jr for $300 million. WhiteHat Jr was offering online coding courses to students through live lessons and interactive classes. 

April 2021: The edtech giant acquired Aakash Educational Services Ltd., reportedly in a deal worth nearly $1 billion. Byju’s aimed to expand its offerings for students preparing for medical and engineering entrance exams, board exams, NTSE, Olympiads, and other foundation-level exams, through this acquisition.

July 2021: Byju’s acquired Great Learning Pvt. Ltd. for $600 million and Epic! for $500 million. Great Learning was a leading global player in the professional and higher education segment. Epic! was the world’s leading digital reading platform for children aged up to 12 years.

Byju’s also poured hundreds of millions into marketing, signing Shah Rukh Khan and Lionel Messi as brand ambassadors. It became the main sponsor of the Indian cricket team and an official sponsor of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

In November 2017, Byju’s signed a deal with Shahrukh Khan as its brand ambassador reportedly at a cost of Rs 3-4 crore per annum. Byju’s signed a three-year brand ambassador deal with Lionel Messi in November 2022 ‘Education For All’, the social impact arm of the company. The deal was announced ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

However, the years that followed brought a steep decline. Several factors, like delayed audits, funding shortfalls, debt disputes, insolvency proceedings, and regulatory interventions, including pending cases in the Supreme Court and the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), led to its rapid fall. The company’s aggressive expansion was also marred by allegations of a toxic work culture and intense pressure on employees to secure new customers.

November 2021: Byju’s secured a $1.2 billion term loan from overseas lenders for global expansion and general corporate use.

July 2022: The company said its audited financial results would be released soon, after delays raised concerns about revenue recognition.

August and September 2022: The Ministry of Corporate Affairs questioned the 17-18-month delay in the submission of audited accounts for FY21. When filed, the results revealed a loss of about Rs 4,588 crore.

October 2022: Byju’s closed a $250-million financing round led by Qatar Investment Authority.

December 2022: Creditors demanded immediate partial repayment of the term loan, citing covenant breaches linked to delayed audited results.

March 2023: Byju’s offered to increase the interest rate on the term loan as part of renegotiation efforts.

April 2023: Lenders reportedly sought a $200-million prepayment and higher interest as conditions for restructuring.

May 2023: The company completed a Rs 2,000-crore structured credit deal backed by Aakash’s cash flows, expected to help refinance debt.

June 2023: Tech investor Prosus slashed Byju’s valuation by 75%, triggering layoffs and renewed allegations of financial mismanagement. Its parent company, Think & Learn Pvt. Ltd., came under scrutiny for failing to deposit employees’ PF contributions and was later suspended by Google and Facebook for non-payment of advertising dues.

November 2023: Byju’s founder was forced to mortgage personal properties to secure a loan to pay employee salaries.

February 2024: The Karnataka High Court ruled that decisions taken at an EGM aimed at removing founder Byju Raveendran would not apply until the next hearing.

March 2024: The NCLT refused to stay another EGM meant to increase authorised share capital for a $200 million rights issue.

July 2024: Insolvency proceedings (CIRP) were admitted against Byju’s parent after a default of about Rs 158 crore owed to the BCCI.

September 2024: Indian tax authorities filed claims worth $101 million in the insolvency process.

October 2024: The Supreme Court set aside an NCLAT order closing insolvency proceedings and directed that settlement funds be deposited with the Committee of Creditors.

May 2025: The Supreme Court agreed to hear a plea from Byju’s promoters to uphold a pre-CoC settlement with the BCCI.

June 2025: The NCLAT rejected an appeal by the resolution professional (EY partner) in the Byju’s-Aakash dispute.

July 2025: The resolution professional filed a Rs 1,597 crore lawsuit against a Dubai-based marketing agent.

September 2025: Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing registered an FIR against the founder and others in an alleged Rs 46.90 crore student-loan fraud case.

November 2025: The Manipal Group submits a bid to take over Think & Learn Pvt. Ltd., the parent company of bankrupt edtech firm Byju’s. The expression of interest has been “formally submitted” by Manipal Education and Medical Group India Pvt (MEMG), the company said in a statement.