Byju Raveendran
Byju Raveendran in 2017
Born1980 (age 43–44)
Azhikode, Kannur, Kerala, India
NationalityIndian
EducationBachelor of Technology
Alma materGovernment College of Engineering, Kannur
OccupationEntrepreneur
TitleFounder & CEO of Byju's
SpouseDivya Gokulnath

Byju Raveendran (Malayalam: ബൈജു രവീന്ദ്രൻ; born 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 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 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 their handheld devices.[13][6][14][15] In October 2018, the app expanded to the United Kingdom, 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, 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 in his personal capacity to further increase his stake in the company.[23]

Personal life

Byju married Divya Gokulnath, who was one of his early students, in 2009. Together they have two sons.[24]

Honors and awards

References

  1. 1 2 "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.
  3. 1 2 "ബൈജൂസ് ആപ്പിന്റെ കഥ; ബൈജു രവീന്ദ്രന്റെയും". Mathrubhumi.
  4. ↑ "WHO IS BYJU RAVEENDRAN". Business Standard India. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  5. 1 2 Gilchrist, Karen (30 July 2019). "India crowns its newest billionaire, a 37-year-old former teacher". CNBC. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Krishna, Niharika (11 July 2016). "Teacher, entrepreneur: The success story of Byju Raveendran". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  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.
  9. ↑ TNM Staff (29 July 2019). "Kerala-born former teacher Byju Raveendran is India's newest billionaire". The News Minute. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  10. ↑ Banerjee, Sreya (31 July 2019). "Teacher turned app maker Byju Raveendran is India's newest billionaire". ABC News. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  11. ↑ Ghosh, Debojyoti (21 November 2020). "Byju's better half". Fortune India. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  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.
  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.
  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.
  21. ↑ Singh, Manish (5 April 2021). "Byju's acquires Indian tutor Aakash for nearly $1 billion". Techcrunch. Retrieved 8 October 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. ↑ "Byju's better half". www.fortuneindia.com. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  25. ↑ "Express IT Awards: Byju Raveendran, a teacher who is the pupils' pet". The Financial Express. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  26. ↑ Staff (7 December 2020). "Byju Raveendran dedicates Manorama News Newsmaker Award to COVID warriors, teachers". Onmanorama. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  27. ↑ "Byju Raveendran". EY. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  28. ↑ Dave, Sachin (25 March 2021). "Harsh Mariwala wins EY Entrepreneur of the year 2020 award". Economic Times. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  29. ↑ "Byju Raveendran | 2020 40 under 40 in Tech". Fortune. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  30. ↑ 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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