Behind the Money Finale: The collapse of India’s $22bn tech star
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Apr 1, 2026 
Chris Kay, Mumbai bureau chief at the Financial Times, traces Byju’s meteoric rise and dramatic collapse. He covers courtroom testimony, missing millions from a $1.2bn loan, allegations of witness tampering, and the fallout for India’s tech funding and corporate governance.
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Stadium Math Shows Fueled Byju’s Early Growth
- Baiju Ravindran built fame by hosting packed live “maths shows” in stadiums that turned tutoring into large-scale performances.
- He scaled from tutoring friends to stadiums, which later fed demand for his 2015 freemium learning app used across school levels.
Pandemic Boom Made Byju’s A Household Name
- The pandemic turned Byju’s into a household brand as remote schooling spiked usage and the company spent heavily on marketing and national cricket sponsorships.
- Massive visibility plus freemium-to-subscription pricing pushed rapid user growth and investor attention during 2020–2022.
Buy And Build Spree Fueled Global Push
- Byju’s executed an aggressive acquisition spree, buying ~20 companies and taking a $1.2bn US term loan to fund global expansion.
- This leveraged, buy-and-build strategy amplified scale quickly but increased exposure to financing and integration risk.