Moneycontrol PRO
Loans
HomeAuthor

Nikhil Patwardhan

.

Moneycontrol.com

Byju’s investors set up working group to engage with edtech months after stepping down from board

BUSINESS

Byju’s investors set up working group to engage with edtech months after stepping down from board

The group includes some of Byju's largest investors, such as General Atlantic, Prosus, Peak XV, Sofina, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and Verlinvest.

upGrad’s Mayank Kumar quits as edtech consortium chairperson, PhysicsWallah's Maheshwari to take over

BUSINESS

upGrad’s Mayank Kumar quits as edtech consortium chairperson, PhysicsWallah's Maheshwari to take over

Kumar, who was leading India Edtech Consortium since 2022 along with Byju’s co-founder Divya Gokulnath, has sent a mail to the members of the consortium about his decision to quit

Startup funding up 15% in September as late-stage deals make comeback

BUSINESS

Startup funding up 15% in September as late-stage deals make comeback

Although the pace of investment has been slow, experts are anticipating that things will pick up if start-ups can show promising performance and are able to grow into their valuations. They also feel valuations must be more realistic to inspire confidence in investors

Byju’s to rebrand WhiteHat Jr as Byju's Future School, fully merge operations with itself

BUSINESS

Byju’s to rebrand WhiteHat Jr as Byju's Future School, fully merge operations with itself

A merger of WhiteHat Jr with self would thus help the company in reducing its overall burn, which will be critical considering its impending cash needs

Byju’s defers final settlements of laid off employees to November

BUSINESS

Byju’s defers final settlements of laid off employees to November

Byju's sent an email to the affected employees, notifying them of a delay in the disbursement of their dues to November 17 from September 15 earlier

SoftBank, CPPIB to participate in Eruditus’ $60-70 mn secondary funding, likely at 20% discount

BUSINESS

SoftBank, CPPIB to participate in Eruditus’ $60-70 mn secondary funding, likely at 20% discount

The secondary funding round is also likely to see participation from a new investor with a sovereign wealth fund showing interest

Byju’s undertakes strategic review of all its assets as it looks to focus on core biz, generate cash

BUSINESS

Byju’s undertakes strategic review of all its assets as it looks to focus on core biz, generate cash

Byju's is further considering the sale of some of its other non-core assets to unlock value and manage its debt repayment

Byju’s misses own timeline to pay variable income to tuition centre staff

BUSINESS

Byju’s misses own timeline to pay variable income to tuition centre staff

Mrinal Mohit, the de facto head of the Byju’s Tuition Centres (BTC) vertical had said in an employee townhall in July that the company would be paying variable or performance-linked income and other incentives to the entire staff with their September salaries. But at least 7 employees have confirmed to Moneycontrol that these incentives were not paid with September salaries

Byju’s delays Rs 45-50 cr payments to Salesforce and other data management tools

BUSINESS

Byju’s delays Rs 45-50 cr payments to Salesforce and other data management tools

Byju’s employees use customer relationship management (CRM) platforms like Leadsquared, Orderhive, and Salesforce, and data visualisation software such as Tableau and Tooljet. All employees lost access to Salesforce, Tableau and Tooljet on August 31

Zepto's unicorn round sole bright spot as funding winter persists in August

BUSINESS

Zepto's unicorn round sole bright spot as funding winter persists in August

Indian startups raised $376 million in PE/VC funding in August 2023, down from $523 million in July.

SoftBank may exit Zomato fully after selling 1.17% in block deal

BUSINESS

SoftBank may exit Zomato fully after selling 1.17% in block deal

SoftBank, which has another 2.18 percent stake in Zomato, booked a profit of over Rs 100 core after partially selling its shareholding on August 30

WhiteHat Jr CEO Ananya Tripathi resigns, in another top level exit at Byju's

BUSINESS

WhiteHat Jr CEO Ananya Tripathi resigns, in another top level exit at Byju's

Tripathi joined WhiteHat Junior in April of last year. She was the Managing Director at KKR Capstone before joining WhiteHat Junior. A McKinsey alumni, Tripathi also served as the Chief Strategy Officer of Myntra for almost four years.

Byju’s chief business officer Prathyusha Agarwal, two more senior execs quit

BUSINESS

Byju’s chief business officer Prathyusha Agarwal, two more senior execs quit

The departure of the senior executives come at a time when Byju's is trying to get its operations and finances in place

Upskilling platforms see robust demand for courses amid edtech slump

BUSINESS

Upskilling platforms see robust demand for courses amid edtech slump

Upskilling and higher education platforms secured close to $750 million across 116 deals in 2022, K-12 and test prep platforms, on the other hand, nearly halved to $1.7 billion in 2022 from over $3 billion in 2021.

Peak XV-backed Cuemath lays off 100 more employees amid edtech slump

BUSINESS

Peak XV-backed Cuemath lays off 100 more employees amid edtech slump

Cuemath had sacked about 100 employees in May to improve efficiencies amid a worsening landscape for K-12 edtech globally.

Mamaearth in talks with Fidelity, GIC, QIA, SoftBank for $150 million pre-IPO round

BUSINESS

Mamaearth in talks with Fidelity, GIC, QIA, SoftBank for $150 million pre-IPO round

Even though founders Varun and Ghazal Alagh are confident of delivering an exit to investors through their upcoming public listing, a few early investors want to offload shares before the IPO, according to a source.

Investors take a harder look at Indian edtech deals amid Byju’s troubles

BUSINESS

Investors take a harder look at Indian edtech deals amid Byju’s troubles

While upskilling edtechs continue to attract some interest, investors appear to be cautious on the K-12 edtech sector

Peak XV’s Shailendra Singh stresses on free cash flow, building right culture at founders retreat

BUSINESS

Peak XV’s Shailendra Singh stresses on free cash flow, building right culture at founders retreat

In a 40-minute welcome note, Singh asked founders to have clarity on product propositions and how they should have a multi-decade mindset, build defensible moats, and should prioritise solving problems over money

Byju’s lets go of employees in mentoring, product expert division after performance review

BUSINESS

Byju’s lets go of employees in mentoring, product expert division after performance review

Employees were asked to resign voluntarily and were offered the salary for August and September as their final settlement, according to sources.

Nearly 60% of Byju’s Tuition Centre customers have requested refunds in the last two years

BUSINESS

Nearly 60% of Byju’s Tuition Centre customers have requested refunds in the last two years

The high refund request level suggests that students are dissatisfied with the quality and format of the courses offered by Byju’s Tuition Centers

Bullish on India: IPOs become attractive exit option again as tech stocks soar

BUSINESS

Bullish on India: IPOs become attractive exit option again as tech stocks soar

The recent bull run is significant because it follows a long bearish period when public shareholders questioned the profitability of these companies. The improved financial performance of tech companies is now forcing other new entrants to focus on better financials before approaching the market.

Indian edtech firms leverage AI to curb cash burn, growth hiring

BUSINESS

Indian edtech firms leverage AI to curb cash burn, growth hiring

Firms are finding new use cases for AI including grading and feedback, co-pilot for teachers and students, and even sprucing up CVs of students, helping them to cut costs and reduce hiring.

SoftBank sitting on $550 million of gains on listed Indian bets so far in 2023

BUSINESS

SoftBank sitting on $550 million of gains on listed Indian bets so far in 2023

The rise in the fair value of its investments in publicly listed portfolio companies led SoftBank to pare its stakes gradually via successive transactions in the public market

SoftBank invests most in four quarters, restarts ‘careful’ investments with focus on AI

BUSINESS

SoftBank invests most in four quarters, restarts ‘careful’ investments with focus on AI

Through the company’s Vision Fund Unit, which includes the two Vision Funds and one Latin America Fund, SoftBank invested $900 million, more than two times compared to the same quarter of last year, when it invested about $400 million

Advisory Alert: It has come to our attention that certain individuals are representing themselves as affiliates of Moneycontrol and soliciting funds on the false promise of assured returns on their investments. We wish to reiterate that Moneycontrol does not solicit funds from investors and neither does it promise any assured returns. In case you are approached by anyone making such claims, please write to us at grievanceofficer@nw18.com or call on 02268882347