How BYJU'S Makes Money

BYJU'S made most of its money selling multi-year learning packages, not app subscriptions. Free lessons in the app generated leads, and a large field sales team visited families to sell courses bundled with tablets and SD cards, often paid for through loans arranged with NBFC lenders. In FY2020, sales of tablets and SD cards loaded with course content brought in Rs 1,676 crore, or 70.4% of operating revenue; reference books added 23.5% and tuition and service fees the rest. After the 2020-21 acquisitions the group also earned classroom fees through Aakash and BYJU'S Tuition Centres, subscriptions through Epic in the US, and course fees through WhiteHat Jr and Great Learning. Criticism of hard selling and the end of NBFC loan partnerships later squeezed collections.

There is no growth strategy in the usual sense. Since July 2024 the business has been run by an insolvency professional whose job is to preserve value and sell the company or its assets. Steps so far include selling surplus inventory and equipment, pursuing the Aakash stake and inviting bids for the remaining brands. An August 2026 auction of assets linked to a subsidiary was frozen by the NCLT after claims that goods worth about Rs 150 crore had been sold for about Rs 16 crore.