In a rare and emotionally charged interview with ANI in Dubai, Byju Raveendran, founder and CEO of ed-tech giant BYJU’S, broke his silence on the controversies that have engulfed the company over the past two years. Acknowledging the company’s missteps, he reaffirmed his belief in the mission that once made BYJU’S India’s most valuable startup.
“We were selling love for learning,” Raveendran said, emphasizing that the company’s core philosophy was to reignite curiosity in students using interactive and engaging tools. Movie-like lessons and game-like interactions, he claimed, were designed to make children “fall in love with learning” again.
Credits: MSN
He also pointed to the widening gap in quality teaching across India. “Forget about good teachers. Schools are struggling to find any teachers. The only way to solve this at scale is through technology,” he noted.
Admitting Mistakes—but Not Giving Up
For a company that once stood as a symbol of India’s ed-tech revolution, BYJU’S has had a turbulent fall from grace. The company has been battling financial troubles, regulatory scrutiny, and multiple lawsuits. But Raveendran didn’t shy away from admitting where things went wrong.
“At the ground level, a few hundred of those tens of thousands of sales guys have made mistakes,” he said, referring to past allegations of high-pressure sales tactics. “But we have corrected them.”
Rather than distancing himself from the controversy, Raveendran tried to humanize the issue—owning up to flaws while emphasizing the scale of BYJU’S operations and the limited scope of wrongdoing relative to their size.
“If It’s Not Good Enough for My Son, It’s Not Good Enough for the Market”
Perhaps the most compelling moment came when Raveendran spoke as a father, not a CEO. “I will never sell any product which is not used at home. I will never sell anything to anyone which I won’t give to my son, who is very special to me.”
He went on to say that his son learned foundational skills in math and coding through WhiteHat Jr., a BYJU’S-acquired company that has been the target of sharp criticism over the past few years. “He has learned everything—from special teachers in WhiteHat Junior,” he added.
This emotional appeal appears to be a strategic effort to regain the trust of parents and educators—those who once saw BYJU’S as a trusted education partner.
“We Have to Make a Comeback”
Despite the headlines and heavy odds, Raveendran remains hopeful about the future. “Today there is no alternate to BYJU’S,” he claimed. “We have to make a comeback in one form or the other—for students who have not got access.”
He reiterated his belief that the company’s legacy is not just about content, but about teaching children how to learn. In his words, “The skill set which they are learning in school today won’t matter in 15 years. But if you can make sure you learn how to learn, you become a continuous learner.”
Still the Largest Platform—For Now
In a bold assertion, Raveendran claimed that BYJU’S remains a dominant force in global ed-tech. “Most of the AI platforms, the results come from BYJU’S. We are by far the largest platform like this even today,” he stated.
He emphasized that the company spent a decade building products aligned with CBSE, ICSE, and various state boards, and continues to get more users than even Khan Academy in the U.S.
Fighting the Narrative War
While BYJU’S is battling legal and financial crises, Raveendran says the real war is with perception. “We are not able to fight this media battle. It’s like large corporations on the other side. But we are not giving up.”
His final words? “How do you beat a person who never gives up?”
Credits: Times Now
Conclusion
From emotional appeals to defiant optimism, Byju Raveendran’s interview paints the portrait of a founder who believes his mission is far from over. Whether his words translate into a genuine turnaround for BYJU’S remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: he’s not ready to close the book on this ed-tech story just yet.
