Byju Raveendran

Byju Raveendran
Byju Raveendran
	Byju Raveendran in 2017
Born	5 January 1980 (age 44); Azhikode, Kannur, Kerala, India
Nationality	Indian
Education	B-Tech
Alma mater	Government College of Engineering, Kannur
Occupation	Entrepreneur
Title	Founder & CEO of Byju's
Spouse	Divya Gokulnath

Byju Raveendran (born 5 January 1980)^[1] is an Indian entrepreneur, investor and educator who, with his wife Divya Gokulnath, co-founded Byju's.

Early life and education

Byju was born in 5th January 1980 in the Azhikode^[1]^[2] village of Kerala, India to Raveendran and Shobhanavalli, physics and mathematics teachers, respectively.^[3]^[4] He studied at a Malayalam medium school where his mother was a mathematics teacher and his father a physics teacher.^[5]^[6] He would skip classes and then learn at home.^[7]^[8]

Career

After completing his B.Tech from the Government College of Engineering, Kannur, he joined a multinational shipping company as a service engineer.^[3] During a vacation in 2003, he helped his friends who were studying for the CAT exam.^[6] He then took the CAT exam and scored in the 100th percentile.^[6] When he took the exam again, he again scored in the 100th percentile.^[9] Two years later, he continued helping people study for the CAT exam and, based on the good results, decided to quit his job.^[6]

In 2007, Byju founded the test preparation business Byju's Classes,^[6] and the company grew to stadium-size classes.^[10] In 2011, he founded Byju's with his wife, Divya Gokulnath,^[5] whom he met while she was a student in his exam preparation class.^[11]^[12]

In 2015, as smartphone screen sizes increased, Byju's launched an app developed by Byju for students to learn on handheld devices.^[13]^[6]^[14]^[15] In October 2018, the app expanded to the United Kingdom, the United States and other English-speaking countries.^[16] By July 2022, the app had been downloaded more than 150 million times, and on average, its users spent 71 minutes on the app every day.^[17]

In 2021, Byju was heading advanced talks to acquire Vedantu for around $600-$700 million, but the deal didn't get through due to pending regulatory approvals.^[18]

According to Forbes, as of 2020, Byju, his wife Divya Gokulnath, and his brother Riju Raveendran have a combined net worth of $3.4 billion.^[19] In January 2021, he was added to the National Startup Advisory Council as a non-official member.^[20] In April 2021, Byju's purchased the Indian test-prep provider Aakash Educational Services Ltd. for nearly US$1 billion.^[21]^[22]

In July 2022, Byju invested $400 million in BYJU'S during a venture capital financing round.^[23]

On 1 February 2024, multiple shareholders were reported to have signed a notice calling for a general meeting to address various issues at BYJU'S, including requests to change the company's board of directors and leadership.^[24] In February 2024, India's economic intelligence and law enforcement entity Enforcement Directorate issued a look out notice against Raveendran.^[25] On 23 February, shareholders voted to remove Byju as CEO, and he stated afterwards that the vote was invalid due to a lack of a quorum.^[26] A previous court ruling placed the implementation of the shareholder vote on hold until after further review on 13 March 2024.^[26]^[27]

Personal life

Byju married Divya Gokulnath, one of his early students, in 2009. Together they have two sons.^[28]

Awards and recognition

Year	Title	Ref
2017	The Indian Express IT Awards	^[29]
2019	Manorama News Newsmaker award	^[30]
2020	Ernst & Young Finalist, Entrepreneur of the Year, India and Winner, Business Transformation Award	^[31]^[32]
2020	Fortune Magazine's '40 Under 40' list	^[33]
2021	Forbes India Leadership Award (FILA) Entrepreneur for the Year	^[34]

References

^ ^a ^b "Byju Raveendran". The Economic Times. 15 February 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
^ "Byju's education app: A CAT topper who didn't fancy IIMs is making self-learning cool among Indian students — Quartz India". qz.com. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
^ ^a ^b "ബൈജൂസ് ആപ്പിന്റെ കഥ; ബൈജു രവീന്ദ്രന്റെയും". Mathrubhumi.
^ "WHO IS BYJU RAVEENDRAN". Business Standard India. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
^ ^a ^b Gilchrist, Karen (30 July 2019). "India crowns its newest billionaire, a 37-year-old former teacher". CNBC. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Krishna, Niharika (11 July 2016). "Teacher, entrepreneur: The success story of Byju Raveendran". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
^ Rai, Saritha (29 July 2019). "Byju Raveendran, a former school teacher, joins Indian billionaires' club". LiveMint. Bloomberg. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
^ India TV News Desk (30 July 2019). "Reluctant student-turned teacher, meet Byju Raveendran - India's newest billionaire". India TV. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
^ TNM Staff (29 July 2019). "Kerala-born former teacher Byju Raveendran is India's newest billionaire". The News Minute. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
^ Banerjee, Sreya (31 July 2019). "Teacher turned app maker Byju Raveendran is India's newest billionaire". ABC News. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
^ Ghosh, Debojyoti (21 November 2020). "Byju's better half". Fortune India. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
^ ET Now Digital (10 October 2020). "With a wealth of over Rs 11,300 crore, meet India's youngest billionaire". TimesNowNews. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
^ FP Staff (29 July 2019). "Byju's founder, Raveendran polevaults into billionaire club with latest funding of $150 mn". FirstPost. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
^ Rai, Saritha (3 December 2020). "Byju Raveendran, the A Student in Online Ed". Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
^ Shah, Vrutika (12 February 2020). "5 youngest billionaires of India and how they make their money". GQ India. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
^ "India's Game-Changers - Byju Raveendran". BBC World News. 6 October 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
^ "Byju's said to be in talks with lenders for $1 billion funding". The Economic Times. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
^ "Byju's to acquire e-learning platform Vedantu for $600-$700 mn". The Times of India. IANS. 6 August 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
^ "Byju Raveendran and Divya Gokulnath". Forbes. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
^ "Byju Raveendran, Kunal Bahl named to startup advisory panel". The Siasat Daily. 19 January 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
^ Singh, Manish (5 April 2021). "Byju's acquires Indian tutor Aakash for nearly $1 billion". Techcrunch. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
^ Bhalla, Tarush (5 April 2021). "Aakash joins Byju's universe in a deal worth nearly $1 billion". Mint. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
^ "Byju's Struggles to Close $800 Million Funding as Investors Balk". Bloomberg.com. 11 July 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
^ Shah, Ranjani Raghavan,Sneha (1 February 2024). "Shareholders ask Byju Raveendran to step down". mint. Retrieved 1 February 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ Bureau, The Hindu (22 February 2024). "ED issues fresh look-out notice against Byju Raveendran". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 23 February 2024. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
^ ^a ^b Pandya, Dhwani; Sriram, M. (23 February 2024). "Indian startup Byju's calls shareholder move to oust CEO invalid". Retrieved 24 February 2024.
^ "India court says Byju's shareholder decisions will not apply before March 13". Reuters. 21 February 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2024.
^ "Byju's better half". www.fortuneindia.com. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
^ "Express IT Awards: Byju Raveendran, a teacher who is the pupils' pet". The Financial Express. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
^ Staff (7 December 2020). "Byju Raveendran dedicates Manorama News Newsmaker Award to COVID warriors, teachers". Onmanorama. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
^ "Byju Raveendran". EY. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
^ Dave, Sachin (25 March 2021). "Harsh Mariwala wins EY Entrepreneur of the year 2020 award". Economic Times. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
^ "Byju Raveendran | 2020 40 under 40 in Tech". Fortune. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
^ Bathija, Monica (18 March 2021). "FILA 2021 Entrepreneur for the Year: Byju Raveendran's global ambitions". Forbes India. Retrieved 26 March 2021.

[ET_profile_2021-1] "Byju Raveendran". The Economic Times. 15 February 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2022.

[2] "Byju's education app: A CAT topper who didn't fancy IIMs is making self-learning cool among Indian students — Quartz India". qz.com. Retrieved 10 November 2018.

[Mathrubhumi-3] "ബൈജൂസ് ആപ്പിന്റെ കഥ; ബൈജു രവീന്ദ്രന്റെയും". Mathrubhumi.

[4] "WHO IS BYJU RAVEENDRAN". Business Standard India. Retrieved 28 July 2022.

[Gilchrist_2019-5] Gilchrist, Karen (30 July 2019). "India crowns its newest billionaire, a 37-year-old former teacher". CNBC. Retrieved 26 March 2021.

[Krishna_2016-6] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Krishna, Niharika (11 July 2016). "Teacher, entrepreneur: The success story of Byju Raveendran". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 26 March 2021.

[Rai_2019-7] Rai, Saritha (29 July 2019). "Byju Raveendran, a former school teacher, joins Indian billionaires' club". LiveMint. Bloomberg. Retrieved 26 March 2021.

[8] India TV News Desk (30 July 2019). "Reluctant student-turned teacher, meet Byju Raveendran - India's newest billionaire". India TV. Retrieved 26 March 2021.

[TNM_2019-9] TNM Staff (29 July 2019). "Kerala-born former teacher Byju Raveendran is India's newest billionaire". The News Minute. Retrieved 3 May 2021.

[Banerjee_2019-10] Banerjee, Sreya (31 July 2019). "Teacher turned app maker Byju Raveendran is India's newest billionaire". ABC News. Retrieved 3 May 2021.

[Ghosh_2020-11] Ghosh, Debojyoti (21 November 2020). "Byju's better half". Fortune India. Retrieved 26 March 2021.

[ET_2020-12] ET Now Digital (10 October 2020). "With a wealth of over Rs 11,300 crore, meet India's youngest billionaire". TimesNowNews. Retrieved 26 March 2021.

[FP_2019-13] FP Staff (29 July 2019). "Byju's founder, Raveendran polevaults into billionaire club with latest funding of $150 mn". FirstPost. Retrieved 27 March 2021.

[Rai_2020-14] Rai, Saritha (3 December 2020). "Byju Raveendran, the A Student in Online Ed". Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Retrieved 26 March 2021.

[15] Shah, Vrutika (12 February 2020). "5 youngest billionaires of India and how they make their money". GQ India. Retrieved 26 March 2021.

[16] "India's Game-Changers - Byju Raveendran". BBC World News. 6 October 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2021.

[17] "Byju's said to be in talks with lenders for $1 billion funding". The Economic Times. Retrieved 6 August 2022.

[18] "Byju's to acquire e-learning platform Vedantu for $600-$700 mn". The Times of India. IANS. 6 August 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2022.

[19] "Byju Raveendran and Divya Gokulnath". Forbes. Retrieved 6 August 2022.

[20] "Byju Raveendran, Kunal Bahl named to startup advisory panel". The Siasat Daily. 19 January 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2021.

[Singh_2021-21] Singh, Manish (5 April 2021). "Byju's acquires Indian tutor Aakash for nearly $1 billion". Techcrunch. Retrieved 8 October 2021.

[Bhalla_2021-22] Bhalla, Tarush (5 April 2021). "Aakash joins Byju's universe in a deal worth nearly $1 billion". Mint. Retrieved 8 October 2021.

[23] "Byju's Struggles to Close $800 Million Funding as Investors Balk". Bloomberg.com. 11 July 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2022.

[24] Shah, Ranjani Raghavan,Sneha (1 February 2024). "Shareholders ask Byju Raveendran to step down". mint. Retrieved 1 February 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[25] Bureau, The Hindu (22 February 2024). "ED issues fresh look-out notice against Byju Raveendran". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 23 February 2024. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)

[Reuters_2024-26] Pandya, Dhwani; Sriram, M. (23 February 2024). "Indian startup Byju's calls shareholder move to oust CEO invalid". Retrieved 24 February 2024.

[27] "India court says Byju's shareholder decisions will not apply before March 13". Reuters. 21 February 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2024.

[28] "Byju's better half". www.fortuneindia.com. Retrieved 6 August 2022.

[29] "Express IT Awards: Byju Raveendran, a teacher who is the pupils' pet". The Financial Express. Retrieved 10 February 2022.

[30] Staff (7 December 2020). "Byju Raveendran dedicates Manorama News Newsmaker Award to COVID warriors, teachers". Onmanorama. Retrieved 26 March 2021.

[31] "Byju Raveendran". EY. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2021.

[32] Dave, Sachin (25 March 2021). "Harsh Mariwala wins EY Entrepreneur of the year 2020 award". Economic Times. Retrieved 14 April 2021.

[:0-33] "Byju Raveendran | 2020 40 under 40 in Tech". Fortune. Retrieved 13 September 2020.

[Bathija_2021-34] Bathija, Monica (18 March 2021). "FILA 2021 Entrepreneur for the Year: Byju Raveendran's global ambitions". Forbes India. Retrieved 26 March 2021.

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Byju Raveendran

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

Awards and recognition

References

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