Arjun Mohan, who quit as the chief executive officer of upskilling platform upGrad in January this year after a nearly three-year run, took over as the CEO of the Indian operations of Byju’s, its beleaguered edtech peer.
Mohan takes over from Mrinal Mohit, a founding partner at Byju’s who was leading its India operations.
“While challenges are aplenty, I am ready to play my role in helping Byju’s empower our current and future generations,” said Mohan.
This would be Mohan’s second stint at the edtech giant, which has been embroiled in controversies. He formerly served as chief business officer at Byju's for over 11 years. Mohan joined Byju’s again in July and has been working closely with founder Byju Raveendran, the company said in a statement.
“(Arjun’s) expertise will undoubtedly help our turnaround efforts and strengthen our position,” said Raveendran.
The appointment comes months after the Bengaluru-based edtech giant, which was once valued at over $22 billion, is fighting multiple battles including auditor and board member resignations, governance lapses related to regulatory compliance, and valuation markdowns. Its bondholders have been renegotiating the terms of their loans with Byju’s, adding pressure on the company.
The company is also fighting lawsuits. Last week, its American lenders alleged that the online tutor deliberately hid money in an obscure hedge fund. Byju’s rejected these allegations, saying it invested more than $500 million in debt instruments. The company has also reportedly put its kids’ learning platform Epic and higher education platform Great Learning for sale as it tries to raise capital and pay back a loan.
Founded in 2011, Byju’s last reported financial numbers show a loss of Rs 4,589 crore in FY21, widening from Rs 232 crore in FY20. The firm is yet to submit its financial statements for the financial years 2021-22 and 2022-23.
Think & Learn Pvt. Ltd, which operates Byju's, was once regarded as world’s most valued edtech firm. It attracted billions of dollars from investors across the globe during the pandemic that boosted demand for online education services.
However, since last year, Byju’s has faced valuation markdowns by investors such as BlackRock, Prosus (previously Naspers Ventures) and others that valued it as low as $5 billion.
Byju's backers also include marquee private equity and venture capital investors such as CPP Investments, General Atlantic, Tiger Global, Qatar Investment Authority, Bond Capital, Silver Lake, Sofina, Verlinvest, Tencent, Sands Capital Management, Alkeon Capital Management, Edelweiss, and 360 One.
