Who is Byju Raveendran, edtech firm BYJU’s co-founder facing ED heat?

Byju Raveendran, the co-founder of edtech platform BYJU’s, is facing heat from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) which searched his three premises over alleged Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) violations. His company Think and Learn Pvt Ltd, which operates under the brand name BYJU’s, had been in the news recently when it fired 1,500 employees in February this year. The company had cited cost optimisation and outsourcing of operations.

Here’s all you need to know about the edtech co- founder and CEO Byju Raveendran.

1. He is an investor, educator and entrepreneur, having co-founded BYJU’s with his wife Divya Gokulnath in 2015. According to Forbes, he and his family are worth $3.6 billion ( ₹2,942 crore)

2. Hailing from Azhikode village in Kerala, Raveendran studied B Tech at the Government College of Engineering in Kannur. After scoring 100 percentile in two successive CAT exams, he quit his job and started a company in 2007 to help CAT aspirants crack the prestigious entrance exam.

3. In 2011, he and his wife Divya Gokulnath founded Think and Learn Private Limited, four years before launching the main app. Raveendran has a significant stake in Byju’s, together with wife Divya Gokulnath and brother Riju Raveendran, Forbes stated.

4. Under Raveendran, BYJU’s launched a social initiative ‘Education for All’ in 2020 which aims to empower 50 lakh children by 2025.

5. BYJU’s acquired WhiteHat Jr, a Mumbai-based platform aimed at educating children with coding skills. Under Raveendran, the company acquired Singapore-headquartered Great Learning and test-prep platform Toppr in July 2021. BYJU’s also acquired Akash Educational Services, an offline test prep firm.