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Business Standard
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Byju's offloads US assets at steep loss amid mounting financial crisis
Troubled ed-tech firm Byju's has been forced to sell two of its US-based assets, Epic and Tynker, at steep losses. A bankruptcy court in Delaware, US approved the distress sale, with Epic sold for $95 million and Tynker for just $2.2 million. Byju's had purchased Epic in 2021 for $500 million and Tynker for $200 million. Epic has now been acquired by China's TAL Education Group, while online learning platform CodeHS has taken over Tynker after a 48-round competitive auction, according to EdWeek Market Brief. Part of bankruptcy proceedings These sales are part of ongoing bankruptcy proceedings in the United States involving Byju's subsidiaries: Epic, Tynker, and Osmo. The sales aim to help recover part of a $1.2 billion term loan given to Byju's. The company defaulted on the loan over 17 months ago, prompting a series of legal disputes. All three US subsidiaries served as guarantors for the syndicated loan, which has now come under intense scrutiny. Expansion strategy backfires Byju's had bought the US platforms during the Covid-19 pandemic as part of an ambitious international expansion. However, this strategy, driven by debt, has now collapsed, putting the company in crisis. 'Byju's now worth zero': HSBC HSBC has valued global tech investor Prosus' nearly 10 per cent stake in Byju's at zero. Prosus had invested $500 million in the ed-tech company. In a note to investors on 21 May, HSBC said, 'We assign zero value to Byju's stake amid multiple legal cases and funding crunch.' History of Byju's troubles In February 2024, a group of shareholders, including Prosus, accused Byju's of 'financial mismanagement and compliance issues'. They demanded the removal of founder and CEO Byju Raveendran and a complete board overhaul. Auditing firm Deloitte also resigned, citing delays in receiving financial statements for the year ending March 2022. Deloitte said repeated requests to the board for required documents went unanswered. Critics and former auditors have kept raising concerns about corporate governance.
Associated Press
05-02-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
The New Global Forces Changing Demands for Ed-Tech Products
Originally published on EdWeek Market Brief By 2. Upskilling Teachers For AI By 2030, IBM predicts that around 80 percent of tasks in major employment sectors, including education, will be influenced by AI, said Justina Nixon-Saintil, chief innovation officer for the tech company. As with any new technology, companies will encounter about a third of teachers who grasp AI very quickly and see the benefit of it, she said. Another third will be cautiously curious. And the final third will require more guidance to show them the value and bring them along. 'Just like you need to be upskilled in the workforce... teachers have to upskill themselves,' Nixon-Saintil said. 'For them to understand how to use it responsibly — and also how we can make a difference for students — they need to skill themselves and understand fundamentals of AI and AI ethics.' When asked in recent EdWeek Market Brief surveys what specific features they want in AI products, support for teachers to become adept in using the tech was a top priority for U.S. K-12 officials. Advancements in technology are not slowing, Nixon-Saintil said during a presentation at Bett. Advanced forms of cyber technology are also evolving, and rapid gains in quantum computing are 'right around the corner,' she said. 'Before you know it, we have to learn and understand what quantum is,' Nixon-Saintil said. 'That's why lifelong learning is so imperative.'
