"We will rise again." Byju Raveendran Breaks Silence on X; From a USD 22 Billion Empire To A Fighting Comeback

Byju Raveendran, the founder of Byju's, has finally broken his silence following months of turmoil surrounding the once-mighty edtech giant. In a post on X on March 29, he shared a throwback photo and an even more powerful message: "Broke, not broken. We will rise again."

His words come at a time when Byju's is drowning in financial distress, battling a Rs. 11,432 crore debt crisis with lenders and an additional Rs. 158 crore dispute with the BCCI as of February 2025. The company was once valued at a massive USD 22 billion before the downfall for the edtech behemoth began.

Byju Raveendran's Statement On Twitter

In his social media post, Raveendran acknowledged the challenges but also said that the company's journey is far from over:
"Nothing is ever as good as it seems, nor as bad as they make you believe. The truth usually lies somewhere in between. So I'm here to talk about the last 20 years: the good 17, the bad 2 & the ugly 1. No filters. Only facts."
From being India's most celebrated startup to facing allegations of financial mismanagement, mass layoffs, and intense scrutiny from investors and regulators, Byju's has seen a dramatic fall from grace.

What Led to Byju's Downfall?

Byju's was founded in 2011 by Byju Raveendran, Divya Gokulnath, and a group of students. The company started as a learning app, which was one of the first edtechs in India. The company gained rapid momentum, becoming India's first edtech unicorn by 2018. Byju's also expanded globally and acquired multiple education firms.

By 2022, cracks started showing in Byju's success story. People started raising concerns about its finances and aggressive sales tactics that even put families into debt because of high fees structure. By the year 2023, the company was in serious trouble-it was running out of money and fighting with U.S. lenders over unpaid interest on a USD 1.2 billion loan. To survive, Byju's had to sell some of its key assets to raise USD 800 million to 1 billion, as per various reports.

At the same time, the company faced heavy criticism for firing nearly 4,000 employees to cut costs. Reports also emerged about poor working conditions, where many employees, especially from lower-income backgrounds, were overworked and exploited.

Byju Raveendran Plans for a Comeback

Despite all the setbacks, Raveendran believes that Byju's will make a comeback. He said. "Once we relaunch our company - which I believe will happen sooner than expected - we will rehire exclusively from our incredible pool of former BYJUites.​ My hyper-optimism may seem crazy to some. But let's not forget that you have to be odd to be number one."

"BYJU'S was built by these 2 lakh freshers with zero experience, exceptional talent & infinite energy. They went on to become productive members of our great economy. Some became entrepreneurs & created jobs. All they needed was that first elusive opportunity." Raveendran added.

Can Byju's Recover?

Market analysts remain sceptical about Byju's ability to bounce back because of its enormous debts. However, Raveendran says that he is not giving up yet.

"Number systems have always fascinated me as a math teacher. I have fond memories of seeing my students' eyes light up when they discovered the patterns & cyclicity of numbers. And of all the numbers I have worked with, my favourite is 215,000." Byju Raveendran said.