Byju’s founder pledges homes to raise funds to pay salaries to 15,000 employees

Byju Raveendran, the eponymous founder of Indian edtech titan Byju’s, has pledged his home as well as those owned by his family members to raise money for paying employees as the company battles a cash crunch, according to people familiar with the matter.

Two homes owned by the former billionaire’s family in Bengaluru, in southern India, and his under-construction villa in Epsilon — a plush gated community in the city — were offered as collateral to borrow $12 million, the people said, asking not to be named as the information is not public. The startup used the funds to pay salaries to 15,000 employees in Byju’s parent firm, Think & Learn Pvt., on Monday, they said.