Who Founded BYJU'S?

Byju Raveendran, Divya Gokulnath · Founded 2011 · HQ today: Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Who founded BYJU'S?

BYJU'S was founded by Byju Raveendran, Divya Gokulnath in 2011. It is now led by Byju Raveendran.

Founders: Byju Raveendran, Divya Gokulnath
Founded: 2011
Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Number of founders: 2
Current CEO: Byju Raveendran (since 2011)

Where was BYJU'S founded?: BYJU'S was founded in Bengaluru, India in 2011.
When was BYJU'S founded?: BYJU'S was founded in 2011.
Who started BYJU'S?: BYJU'S was founded by Byju Raveendran and Divya Gokulnath.
How old is BYJU'S?: BYJU'S is 15 years old as of 2026.

Founding Story

Byju Raveendran grew up in Azhikode, Kerala, the son of two teachers, and worked as a service engineer for a shipping company. On a break in Bengaluru he helped friends prepare for the CAT, the entrance test for India's IIMs, then sat the exam himself and scored in the 100th percentile, and did it again. His classes grew from small groups to auditoriums and stadiums holding thousands of students. In 2011 he and Divya Gokulnath, one of his former students, set up Think and Learn to put the teaching on video, first on SD cards and tablets and from 2015 in the BYJU'S app.

Byju Raveendran

Background

Byju Raveendran was born in Azhikode, a coastal village in Kannur district, Kerala, to two schoolteachers, and preferred sport to the classroom as a boy. He earned a B.Tech in mechanical engineering from Government Engineering College, Kannur, and worked as a service engineer for a shipping company. While helping friends prepare for the CAT, the entrance test for the Indian Institutes of Management, he sat the exam himself and scored in the 100th percentile, then did it a second time.

Role at BYJU'S

Byju Raveendran founded Think and Learn Private Limited, the company behind BYJU'S, in 2011, after his CAT and school maths classes had grown to fill auditoriums and stadiums. He launched the BYJU'S Learning App in 2015, built a large field sales force and raised money from investors including the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, General Atlantic and Silver Lake, taking the company to a $22 billion valuation in 2022. He bought Aakash, Epic, WhiteHat Jr, Great Learning, Toppr, Tynker and Osmo between 2019 and 2021 and took a $1.2 billion term loan. After lenders declared default and accounts ran late, Think and Learn entered insolvency in July 2024 and his powers as a director were suspended. He faces lender litigation in the US over funds moved out of BYJU'S Alpha and was sentenced to six months in jail for contempt by a Singapore court in May 2026. He denies wrongdoing.

Education: Government College of Engineering, Kannur. Byju Raveendran was born in 1980.

Divya Gokulnath

Co-founder 2011

Background

Divya Gokulnath studied biotechnology engineering at RV College of Engineering in Bengaluru. She attended Byju Raveendran's classes while preparing for the GRE, and he encouraged her to start teaching.

Role at BYJU'S

Divya Gokulnath co-founded BYJU'S with Byju Raveendran in 2011 and was one of the teachers in its early video lessons. She is married to Raveendran and served as a director of Think and Learn, working on content, brand and the Education for All programme, until the board's powers were suspended when the company entered insolvency in July 2024. She is a defendant, with Raveendran and executive Anita Kishore, in a BYJU'S Alpha lawsuit in the US bankruptcy court in Delaware.

Divya Gokulnath was born in 1987.

BYJU'S: CEO & Leadership History

Full timeline →

Arjun Mohan

Chief Executive Officer, BYJU'S India

2023 – 2024

A former BYJU'S executive who had gone on to run upGrad, Mohan resigned in April 2024 after about seven months and moved to an external advisory role, with Byju Raveendran taking back daily operations.

Byju Raveendran

Founder and Chief Executive Officer

2011 – Present

Built India's best-known edtech brand and its most valuable startup, peaking at $22 billion in 2022. Consolidated revenue grew from Rs 1,306 crore in FY2019 to Rs 5,298 crore in FY2022, but the FY2022 loss was Rs 8,245 crore and the accounts were filed about 22 months late. His powers as a director were suspended when Think and Learn entered insolvency in July 2024, and a resolution professional has run the company since.

Keep researching BYJU'S

Who Founded BYJU'S? FAQ

Who founded BYJU'S?

Byju Raveendran and Divya Gokulnath founded Think and Learn Private Limited, the company behind BYJU'S, in Bengaluru in 2011.

Who is Byju Raveendran?

A mechanical engineer from Azhikode, Kerala, who worked for a shipping company before becoming a CAT trainer after scoring in the 100th percentile twice. He built BYJU'S into a $22 billion company and is now fighting lender cases in India, the US and Singapore.

Who is Divya Gokulnath?

A biotechnology engineering graduate from RV College of Engineering, Bengaluru, who attended Raveendran's classes while preparing for the GRE, became a teacher and co-founded BYJU'S. She is married to Raveendran.

Who were BYJU'S first investors?

Aarin Capital, co-founded by Ranjan Pai, made the first institutional investment in 2013. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative led a $50 million round in 2016.

Are the BYJU'S founders facing legal action?

Yes. Byju Raveendran, Divya Gokulnath and executive Anita Kishore are defendants in a BYJU'S Alpha lawsuit in the Delaware bankruptcy court, and in May 2026 a Singapore court sentenced Raveendran to six months in jail for contempt. They deny wrongdoing.

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