New Delhi: One of the largest corporate crashes of the year is Byjus, the now notorious edtech startup in India and a global unicorn. The company that was valued at billions of dollars several years ago have now found themselves in a tussle of debts, lawsuits, worker exits, and massive losses in their financial accounts.
Byjus is an unexpected fall as the company was believed to be a star in the Indian startup industry. Millions of students moved to online learning platforms during the pandemic, and Byjus was very popular. The company received huge money investment by investors who were in hope that it would emerge as the leading education technology brand globally.
However, once the pandemic was over, demand declined very steeply. Parents began to lament expensive subscription fees, sales aggressiveness and bad customer service. Simultaneously, the company expanded too rapidly and acquired most other startups with the help of borrowed funds. Byjus was unable to manage its expenses when business slowed down.
The accounting practices of the company were also questionable to the government authorities. Word of late payments, non-payment of suppliers, and layoffs all at short notice created panic in the market. This was worsened by several senior executives and board members quitting their job.
