According to sources, Indian edtech giant BYJU’S is in talks with investors to raise a funding of $700 Mn amidst a potential debt crisis. The investors are currently conducting due diligence, and the final approval is expected in about a week. It is not clear who the potential investors are, and the total funding amount can change and will be ascertained only after the round closes. Last week, US-based asset manager BlackRock nearly halved the valuation of BYJU’S on its books to $11.5 Bn, and the edtech giant has been looking to re-negotiate its $1.2 Bn term loan amid mounting losses. While BYJU’S has not released its financials for the fiscal year 2021-22 (FY22), its loss soared nearly 20X YoY to INR 4,588 Cr in FY21, forcing the startup to resort to layoffs to cut down its costs and turn profitable. According to the news article, BYJU’S has been under fire for delays in filing its financial statements and has appointed Ajay Goel as its new CFO. The position of CFO had been vacant for more than a year since the departure of PV Rao in December 2021. The appointment of a new CFO is seen as a move to address the company’s financial issues and improve its financial reporting.
As per the Inc42 layoff tracker, BYJU’S has laid off 4,000 employees since 2022 across group companies. This is one of the measures taken by the company to cut down its costs and turn profitable amid mounting losses.