BYJU’S founder and CEO Byju Raveendran has said that he is not worried about the recent valuation markdown by BlackRock, as there is no science behind it. BlackRock recently slashed the valuation of the edtech major nearly 50% to $11.5 billion from the $22 billion at which the edtech decacorn was last valued in 2022. Raveendran added that valuation markdowns happen when the macro environment changes or when the public market comparables change. He also stated that BYJU’S is not selling anything, and they have been increasing ownership in the company in the last 12 months. The CEO claimed that five of BYJU’s six businesses are profitable, and the firm is looking to achieve group-level profitability in the current quarter.
BYJU’S acquired WhiteHat Jr, Scholr, and Aristotle in FY21. It acquired a 76% stake in Whitehat Jr for INR 1,327 Cr in an all-cash deal. WhiteHat Jr contributed 26.73% to BYJU’S total loss of INR 4,588 Cr in FY21, as it is yet to make profits, although the company claims that it has reduced cash burn. Raveendran stated that five out of six businesses of BYJU’S are profitable, and they are looking to achieve group-level profitability, maybe this quarter. According to layoff tracker, BYJU’S has laid off 4,000 employees since 2022, which is a part of its cost-cutting strategy to achieve profitability. However, BYJU’S CEO, Byju Raveendran, pointed out that the company has also hired 25,000 people and that the focus should be on the overall job creation rather than just the layoffs. He also mentioned that the layoffs were mainly due to the consolidation of teams and functions after various acquisitions and integrations.