BUSINESS
Byju’s disburses part salaries for February, promises to pay the balance from rights issue fund
The company’s management added that it expects the salaries to be reflected in employee accounts on Monday, as it was delayed due to a second Saturday and on account of the long weekend.
TECHNOLOGY
Green shoots, investments in Indian startups surpass February 2023 levels
Funding jumped to $636 million in 63 deals in February, an uptick of about 19 percent from $535 million in 50 deals in year-ago period, data shows
BUSINESS
NCLT asks Byju's to keep proceeds of rights issue in escrow account, consider extending closure date
The tribunal has further directed Byju's to "consider the extension of the closure date of the right issue so that the rights of the Petitioners (investors) with regard to the making of application for shares under their rights entitlement does not get prejudiced."
TECHNOLOGY
Byju’s can go ahead with rights issue as NCLT passes no immediate interim order
The tribunal has directed the parties to file written submissions of their contentions in three day and has also issued notice to Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) and Registrar of Companies (ROC).
TRENDS
Investors Vs Byju's: What has been argued in NCLT so far?
The investors alleged that the company's move to call for rights issue is illegal and contrary to law and sought a stay of it, while the board of directors of the company argued that the investors were creating obstructions to the company
TECHNOLOGY
India will benefit from China funding slowdown but US, Japan to gain more, says Manish Kejriwal
The money will probably, from a risk adjusted perspective, go back to the US. The two countries that will see incremental flows will be Japan and India, Kedaara Capital’s founder and managing partner has said
TECHNOLOGY
Byju's EGM today: Investors to vote on founder ouster, share transfer restriction, forensic probe, and other resolutions
Even as Raveendran, his co-founder and wife Divya Gokulnath, and his brother Riju Ravindran have all decided to sit out of the meeting, sources told Moneycontrol that the EGM will continue as planned.
TECHNOLOGY
Hiring slowdown: After IIM Lucknow, BITS Pilani taps alumni network to seek jobs for 2024 batch
IIM Lucknow, one of the top five business schools in India, is struggling to place about 72 of its students and reached out to its alumni
TECHNOLOGY
Don't give effect to EGM resolution till March 13: HC to Byju's shareholders
This comes ahead of an extraordinary general meeting later this week that a few of Byju's largest investors have called, on February 23, in a bid to oust the company's leadership and reconstitute its Board.
TECHNOLOGY
Byju's rights issue to raise $200 million fully subscribed, founder commits $45 million
The edtech is dealing with the twin crises of a cash crunch and some of its investors seeking to oust the leadership to reconstitute the board.
TECHNOLOGY
Byju's rapid growth a cautionary tale for young entrepreneurs: MoS IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar
This comes at a time when some of the most highly valued startups, including Byju's, Paytm, Ola, and Dream11, have come under fire for a range of issues, casting a shadow on India’s technology and startup ecosystem.
TECHNOLOGY
In 5 years, Mumbai will be ahead of Bengaluru, Delhi in terms of mobility: Devendra Fadnavis
Fadnavis also launched the Mumbai Metropolis Metaverse which will offer an immersive virtual representation of Mumbai, showcasing ongoing infrastructure developments and envisioning the transformation of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) by 2025.
TECHNOLOGY
VCs not ready to take chances on women entrepreneurs, but are okay with male founders failing: Union Minister Smriti Irani
“Funding of women-led businesses in technology is the only bottleneck. Talent, resilience, innovation and ideas are not the bottlenecks,” added the union minister.
TECHNOLOGY
UPI would not have been built if not for Mumbai: NPCI’s Dilip Asbe
This comes at a time when entrepreneurs in the financial capital of the country are uniting together to boost and promote the tech ecosystem in the city.
TECHNOLOGY
Challenging times ahead for Indian K-12 partly due to Byju’s fall: GSV’s Michael Moe
However, Moe feels that sentiment towards Indian edtech could improve in the near future, and funding may accelerate by the middle of the year.
TECHNOLOGY
Byju’s asked by Karnataka labour department to settle dues of former employees
The notice from the labour department is the latest in a string of challenges that the troubled edtech firm is facing
TECHNOLOGY
Discussed how to regain credibility with learners, government, media: Ronnie Screwvala on edtech meet up
The upGrad co-founder further added that the focus will not be on investor appeasement because once they start to see something good, they will follow. “They want to be fair weather friends, they are fair weather friends,” he added.
BUSINESS
UpGrad’s Ronnie Screwvala calls for a meeting of edtech founders
Ronnie Screwvala said that the meeting may or may not conclude with the formation of an agenda for next steps, but it would be beneficial to discuss a few things as a collective group.
BUSINESS
Lessons from Byju's will keep investors, board on toes: GSV's Michael Moe
Michael Moe, the founding partner and CEO of venture capital firm GSV Ventures, emphasised the need for increased caution and diligence in ensuring adherence to established protocols.
BUSINESS
Right people also make mistakes despite alignment with investors: GSV's Deborah Quazzo on Byju's crisis
The main action for companies globally has been to take costs down, get to breakeven. If you’re in the breakeven, you've got a lot more control over your destiny, you can figure out when you can resume growth, says GSV's Deborah Quazzo.
BUSINESS
GSV Ventures expects to make follow-on investments in India portfolio this year: Managing Partner Deborah Quazzo
This comes at a time when the edtech sector is facing a double whammy of plummeting investments and the fall of the most valued edtech company, Byju’s. Many Indian startups have fallen back on their existing investors to help them sail through this period.
TECHNOLOGY
Ankur Dhawan steps down as upGrad Abroad president
This is the second such top-level switch in 2024 at the higher education and upskilling unicorn upGrad. The company has now appointed Ankur Nyati, former COO of WhiteHat Jr and Utkarsh Classes, to take over the position effective immediately.
TECHNOLOGY
GCCs driving demand, hiring by IT services still muted: Quess Corp
The freeze on campus hiring by IT companies is a mistake, which is likely to have an impact on the workforce in the coming one to two years, Quess CEO Guruprasad Srinivasan says
TECHNOLOGY
Byju's pays January salaries; founder Raveendran says moving mountains to make payroll
This comes two days after Moneycontrol reported that the company had delayed salaries for the month of January amid a worsening liquidity crisis, despite recently assuring its employees to disburse payments on the first day of every month.
