Netherlands-based Prosus Ventures, which holds a 9.67 per cent stake in Byju’s, has marked down the edtech company’s valuation to sub-$3 billion.

The tech investor had in November last year marked down Byju’s valuation to $5.9 billion, nearly an 86 per cent decline from the embattled edtech firm’s peak valuation a few years ago at $22 billion.

In June, the Prosus representative on Byju’s board, Russell Dreisenstock, along with Dreisenstock, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative’s Vivian Wu, and Peak XV Partners’ (Sequoia Capital India’s) GV Ravishankar, walked away from the board, citing poor reporting and governance structures.

The series of board exits came at a time when the company had come under fire for a host of issues, including delayed financial results and the resignation of its auditor, Deloitte.

The latest cut in valuation by an investor comes at a time when Byju’s is facing fresh trouble, as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) confirmed sending a show cause notice to the ed-tech company Think and Learn Private Limited and Byju Raveendran in the FEMA violation case, as reported by businessline.

Swiggy’s scorecard

Meanwhile, Prosus, the largest shareholder in Swiggy, said the start-up’s core food delivery business grew 17 per cent, delivering a gross merchandise value (GMV) of $1.43 billion in the first six months of the year.

The tech investor said that Swiggy’s operating loss in core food delivery narrowed by 89 per cent, helped by an improving contribution margin and operating leverage.

“Core food delivery EBITDA losses in 1H24 shrank by 89 per cent, led by improvements in contribution margin and operating leverage. This reflects customer willingness to pay for convenience and restaurant willingness to advertise for growth,” the company said.

Prosus, which has a 33 per cent stake in Swiggy, said that the unicorn’s quick-commerce business, Instamart’s store count, ended the period 19 per cent higher in June, contributing to its GMV growth of 63 per cent, according to Prosus. With the platform focused on gaining scale and moving towards profitability in the 25 cities where it operates, Instamart’s first-half contribution losses fell by around 75 per cent.

Prosus reported revenue of $2.6 billion for the first half of FY2024, registering growth across multiple businesses as well as in most of the startups in which it is invested in India.

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