Byju's

Byju’s is an Indian educational technology (edtech) and online tutoring firm founded in 2011 by Byju Raveendran.[6][7] The company with a valuation of $11.1 billion,[8][9] is a leading market player with highest market share in India's growing EdTech space.

Byju's CEO Byju Raveendran

Think and Learn Private Ltd.
TypePrivate
IndustryEdtech, distance education, m-learning
Founded2011 (2011)[1]
FounderByju Raveendran
Headquarters
Bengaluru, Karnataka[1]
,
India
Area served
Multinational
Key people
CEO: Byju Raveendran
ProductsBYJU’S - The Learning App
Revenue ₹520 crore (equivalent to ₹560 crore, US$78 million or €72 million in 2019) (2018)[2]
Total equity₹43,512 crore ($5.9 billion) (2019[3])
OwnerByju Raveendran
Number of employees
9,000 (2020[4])
ParentNone
SubsidiariesTutorVista, Osmo, WhiteHat Jr, LabInApp Technology Pvt Ltd , Aakash Educational Services Limited[5]
Websitebyjus.com

Products and services

Byju's is an education tutoring app that runs on a freemium model,[10] with free access to content limited for 15 days after the registration.[10][11] It was launched in August 2015,[12] offering educational content for students from class 4 to 12. and In 2019 Early learning program has started for class 1 to 3.[13] It also trains students for examinations in India such as IIT-JEE, NEET, CAT, IAS and international examinations such as GRE and GMAT.[14]

Academic subjects and concepts are explained with 12-20 minute digital animation videos.[15][16][17] Byju's reports to have 4 crore (40 million) users overall, 30 lakh (3 million) annual paid subscribers and an annual retention rate of about 85%.[18][19] In 2019, the company announced that it would launch its app in regional Indian languages.[20][13] It also planned to launch an international version of the app for English-speaking students in other countries.[21][22] Recently, Byju's launched new programs in its Early Learn App for students of kindergarten as well.[23]

History

Byju's' app was developed by Think and Learn Pvt Ltd, established by Byju Raveendran in 2011.[6][1] Raveendran, who was trained as an engineer, started coaching students to pass mathematics exams in 2006.[6] In 2011, he founded an educational company with the help of his students offering online video-based learning programs for the K-12 segment as well as competition exams.[24][25] In 2012, Think and Learn entered both Deloitte Technology Fast 50 India and Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Asia Pacific ratings and has been present there ever since.[1][26]

In August 2015, after 4 years of developments, the firm launched Byju's: The Learning App.[27][24][28]

In 2017, Think and Learn launched Byju's Math App for kids and Byju's Parent Connect app to help parents track their child's learning course.[29][30] By 2018, it had 1.5 crore (15 million) users and 9,00,000 paid users.[13][31] In July 2019, Byju's won the sponsorship rights for the Indian cricket team jersey, replacing its former sponsor Oppo.[32] Shah Rukh Khan is the brand ambassador for Byju's.

Acquisitions
  • In July 2017, Think and Learn acquired TutorVista (including Edurite) from Pearson.[33][34][35]
  • In January 2019, Byju's acquired a US-based Osmo, a maker of educational games for children aged 3–8 years for $120 million.[36]
  • Byju's also acquired Indian startup WhiteHat Jr for $300 million.[37]
  • According to a report, Byju's has signed a deal to acquire Aakash Educational Services for US$1 billion.[38]

Funding and financials

Controversy

Byju's was asked to remove their five television advertisements by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) due to incorrect advertisements.[52]

Byju's created a fictional character named "Wolf Gupta" and did social media advertisements, without disclaiming that he was just a character. They often claimed his age to be between 6–14 years who got job offers worth crores in multiple posters.[53]

Whitehat Jr, Byju's subsidiary went to court against its critics and got injunction orders against Aniruddha Malpani[54]

Byju's was ordered to pay ₹52,000 as compensation to Dinesh Kumar of Aminjikarai. Byju's' advertisement had promised that classes were scheduled to commence in the first week of December 2016. But, the classes started one month later in January 2017 at Anna Nagar with no infrastructure and no faculty, and the venue was changed thrice.[55]

Awards and nominations
Year Award or recognition Type of award Result/ranking
2017 Express IT Awards Personal Won[56]
2017 Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Asia Pacific Company 126[57]
2016 Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Asia Pacific Company 115[58]
2015 Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Asia Pacific Company 167[59]
2014 Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Asia Pacific Company 329[60]
2017 Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Asia Pacific Company 176[61]
2012 Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Asia Pacific Company 321[62]
2016 Wharton Reimagine Education Overall Ed Tech Award (Best Educational App) Company Won[63][64]
2016 VCCircle Awards (Education company of the year) Company Won[65][15]
2017 FT/IFC Transformational Business Awards Company Nominated[66]
2016 Future of India Awards Company Won[67]
2016 Global Mobile App Summit & Awards (Education) Company Won[68]
2010 CNBC TV18 CRISIL Emerging India Award (Education) Company Won[15]
2017 CNBC TV18 India Business Leader Awards (Young Turk of the Year) Company Won[69]
2018 Business Standard Annual Awards for Corporate Excellence Company Won[70]
2017 Amazon Web Services Mobility Awards (Established Education App of the Year) Company Won
2018 EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award (Start up) Personal Won[71]

See also

References
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