BlackRock has once again devalued its portfolio company Byju’s, marking the third instance of such markdowns since 2023. In its semi-annual report, BlackRock, holding less than 1 percent of Byju’s shares, adjusted the fair value, thereby reducing the embattled edtech company's valuation from the early 2022 mark of $22 billion to $1 billion as of October 2023.

This valuation adjustment follows a previous 62 percent reduction in May 2023, setting Byju’s valuation at $8.4 billion. TechCrunch initially reported on this development, highlighting the valuation change based on specific disclosures.

Byju’s has faced a series of valuation downgrades over the past year, with the latest in November when Prosus marked down its stake, leading to a company valuation of under $3 billion—a substantial 86 percent decline from the previous $22 billion valuation.

Also read: BCCI Takes Byju's to NCLT Over Unsettled 160 Crore Payments

Challenges and Critical Business Situation for Byju's

India's most-valued startup, Byju’s, has been grappling with challenges since the beginning of 2022, including accounting irregularities, alleged mis-selling of courses, and significant layoffs. Investor board members have also departed, citing differences with founder Raveendran. The company, facing a funding crunch and reduced demand for online learning services, has laid off thousands of employees in the past two years.

According to a senior executive from Byju’s’ new auditing firm MSKA and Associates, the company now confronts challenges continuing as a going concern—an accounting term indicating a company's ability to operate with available resources in the foreseeable future, in this case, the next 12 months.

Follow us on Instagram.