New Delhi: Dismissing speculations of shutting down its ‘coding-for-kids’ platform, edtech giant Byju’s has said in a statement that it is “optimizing White Hat Junior for organic and efficient growth”. The statement said that Byju’s is looking to rationalize its business to increase efficiency.
Byju’s was responding reports Hinting that it may shut down WhiteHat Junior, which gained popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
WhiteHat Jr sources indicated in internal discussions that Byju’s may wind up operations of the acquired coding platform in 2020. Whitehat Junior decision to close More than 300 employees were laid off last year in an effort to cut costs, further fueling speculation that all was not well.
Whitehat Junior informed of There was a loss of Rs 1,690 crore in the financial year 2020-21, while its parent company Byju’s informed of In the same financial year, there was a loss of Rs 4,589 crore.
Rejecting reports of plans to shut down WhiteHat Jr., Byju’s in a statement on Thursday said, “With regard to the specific question on WhiteHat Jr., we have no plans to shut down. We see it as a focus on organic and efficient growth only.” We are fully committed to deliver world-class educational experiences and solutions that empower students to achieve their full potential.
“At the group level, in line with its firm commitment towards achieving operational profitability, BYJU’S is continuously evaluating and optimizing its business operations towards global growth. As an ongoing activity, we are actively evaluating all of our business units to ensure that they align with our path to profitability,” the statement said.
Byju’s announced its plan to achieve a “path to profitability” in a press statement last October and announced its target of achieving overall profitability by March 2023. The statement also talked about consolidating the company’s K-12 businesses, re-inventing its sales model, and more. “retargeting of marketing budgets”, among other things.
It added that “the steps are also in place to pave the way towards a stellar listing as the world’s largest edtech company finally turning profitable”.
Byju’s bought WhiteHat Jr in 2020 for $300 million.
However, a series of controversies followed the acquisition, beginning with exit In August 2021, its founder Karan Bajaj K. There was also a ‘coding-for-kids’ platform accused Posting misleading advertisements of children aged 10-12 years achieving success by becoming ace coders.
An insider at WhiteHat Junior told ThePrint that business has shrunk after the pandemic as the coding craze among young adults seems to be waning with time. This, combined with other controversies, has spelled trouble for the company, the insider said.
(Editing by Amritansh Arora)