According to a media report, the troubled Indian ed-tech start-up Byjus, which many see as an administration crisis, may not renew its approval agreement with Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan when it ends in September.
Meanwhile, since the edtech platform is in serious trouble, Shah Rukh Khan’s team is also hesitant to continue the relationship with the brand, according to a report, quoting someone familiar with the matter.
The actor’s association with the edtech platform began in 2017. The Indian edtech start-up signed up the Bollywood actor for an annual remuneration of around Rs 4 crore.
This is not the first time the relationship between Khan and the start-up has been strained. In early April, a district consumer disputes redressal commission in Madhya Pradesh imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 each on Baiju and the Pathan Star for “not meeting educational standards and false advertisements”. In 2021, when the controversy involving Khan’s son Aryan started, Baiju stopped his commercials with Khan.
Once counted among India’s most successful start-ups, Baiju has lost its board members representing three global investors—PPeak XV, Process NV, and the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative—aand auditor Deloitte.
While the board members did not give reasons for the resignations, Deloitte said it was severing ties with Byju’s over delays in releasing certain financial statements. The company was also raided on suspicion of violating foreign exchange laws.
Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has officially named the fantasy sports platform Dream11 as the main sponsor of Team India.
With this, Dream 11 replaced Byju’s as the main sponsor. The gaming platform has signed a three-year deal with the world’s richest cricket board for an undisclosed amount that is expected to be lower than previous deals.
Byju’s co-founder and CEO, Byju Raveendran, assured his employees at a town hall that he was optimistic about the future and that “the best in Baiju is yet to come”. Raveendran added that the company “didn’t come this far just to get this far”.
