Byju’s Investors Have Voted To Remove the Company’s Founder

A group of investors in BYJUs has voted to remove the founder and current chief executive of the company. Byju Raveendran is currently leading the Indian giant enterprise as it has made a significant impact on the ed-tech industry. The company is experiencing a significant distraction and debate among investors regarding its working strategy and future dimensions. Also, it has led to governance issues as well as financial mismanagement. Ultimately, the investors have decided to go against Raveendran to bring enormous changes in the infrastructure and policies of this world’s largest tech platform.

Background

Byju Raveendran launched BYJUs almost ten years ago, and since then, it has proven itself to be the best education platform across India. With a continuous focus on personalization and innovation, the company has evolved its strategies to teach students in a more interesting and fascinating way. Also, the enterprise has become able to attract a large number of users and has raised the total sum of more than $5 billion in funding. BYJUs has also spent a large portion of this money to acquire several other strategies. Ultimately, it expanded its reach and has diversified its offering plans. Besides, BYJUs announced its SPAC deal at the very beginning of 2022. However, the marketing condition has not allowed it to execute the plan.

Reasons of Investors Vote Against Founder

While BYJUs have flourished tremendously in recent years, it has gained a lot of criticism from investors. The key concerns of the investors include various things regarding accountability, governance, and financial mismanagement. The company is not providing enough data regarding its earnings and expenditures, which has created a sense of mistrust among the funding enterprises. As a result, stakeholders are worried about their investments and indicating red flags.

Moreover, BYJUs has been making active investments in the last few years. In 2021 and 2022, the company has invested a total of $2.5 billion in acquiring different pieces of technology and equipment. Besides, the founder, Raveendran, has more hold on the governance of the enterprise, and he is providing more opportunities to his family members. This has created a lot of disturbance among the investors and team members. 

Voting and Future Prospects

In the general meeting of the company, the investors including the likes of Peak XV Partners and Prosus Ventures, have voted to remove Byju Raveendran and his family members from the board. Raveendran along with his wife and brother, own 60% shares of the company. There, the investors are now aiming to reduce the influencers of the founders and their family members to make the governance unbiased.

BYJUs has replied to the legitimacy of the revolution. The company has stated clearly that only a small group of investors have participated in the EGM. That’s why their decision is not valid. On the other hand, the investors are now looking forward to taking the case to the Karnataka High Court.