[Update] Paisabazaar Cofounder Naveen Kukreja Steps Down From CEO’s Role - Related to creditors, lenders:, &, perplexity’s, rules

BYJU’S Vs TLB Lenders: US Bankruptcy Court Rules In Favour Of Creditors

At the heart of all this is the $ Bn TLB extended to the troubled edtech in 2021. The corporation defaulted on payments later on, forcing lenders to drag BYJU’S to the court.

The bankruptcy court also directed the lenders and BYJU’S to submit a “joint proposed order” on the quantum of damages.

The US court observed that there was an actual fraudulent transfer of $533 Mn to BYJU’S-owned entity Camshaft.

A US bankruptcy court has ruled in favour of the lenders of BYJU’S in connection with a case involving alleged fraudulent transfer of $533 Mn out of the $ Bn term loan B (TLB) extended to the troubled edtech startup.

While granting motions moved by BYJU’S Alpha, a bankrupt US-based subsidiary of the edtech enterprise which was taken over by the lenders after a loan default, Justice John T Dorsey of the US bankruptcy court in Wilmington. Delaware on Thursday (February 27) directed both the creditors and BYJU’S to submit a “joint proposed order” on the quantum of damages.

“The parties should submit a joint proposed order under certification of counsel. If unable to agree on the amount of the judgment, the parties should meet and confer regarding a briefing schedule and. Dates for an evidentiary hearing on the issue of damages,” read the order.

At the heart of all these are two transfers. The first transfer pertains to a series of wire transfers between April 2022 and July 2022. When BYJU’S Alpha (then under BYJU’S parent Think & Learn Pvt Ltd.) made 11 transactions totalling $533 Mn to Camshaft Fund. The second transaction pertains to BYJU’S cofounder and CEO Byju Raveendran transferring BYJU’S Alpha’s “LP Interest” to a Delaware-based subsidiary Inspilearn for “no consideration”.

With regards to the “alleged” “first transfer”, the Court sided with the TLB lenders of BYJU’S.

“Considering all the evidence before me. I find there to be no genuine issue of material fact as to the Debtor’s claim that the First Transfer is an actual fraudulent transfer as to Camshaft. For these reasons, the Motion with respect to Count I (as to Camshaft) is granted,” read the order.

On the count of “actual fraudulent transfer against Inspilearn and T&L(Think & Learn Pvt Ltd.)”, the Court noted that the transfer was made with “fraudulent” intent.

“Having considered the evidence presented by Debtor (BYJU’S Alpha and lenders), and the lack of any opposing evidence from T&L, I am satisfied that Debtor has established that the second transfer was made with fraudulent intent…,” read the order.

With regards to the TLB lenders’ complaint that Riju Ravindran (BYJU’S CEO Byju Raveendran’s brother and the single employee at Inspilearn and erstwhile BYJU’S Alpha) breached his fiduciary duty, the court found him guilty of the charge.

Justice Dorsey also granted BYJU’S Alpha’s motion that sought to declare the second transfer, and all subsequent transfers, made by Think & Learn as “void”.

The Delaware court also granted the debtor’s “claim for conversion“ against Ravindran and T&L arising out of the erstwhile BYJU’S Alpha’s (then under Raveendran’s control) transfer of the LP interest without corporate authority.

In simple parlance. A “claim for conversion” is filed when a person “wrongfully” takes, uses or interferes with another person’s personal property without the latter’s consent.

“The evidence makes clear that as of March 3, 2023, Pohl (Timothy R Pohl, the restructuring professional appointed by GLAS Trust after lenders took over BYJU’S Alpha) was the only party with corporate authority to direct the use, possession, transfer, or disposition of the property of the debtor. Because T&L and Ravindran lacked corporate authority to exercise control over the debtor’s property on March 31. The transfer of the LP interest was a wrongful disposition of the debtor’s property. This constitutes conversion under applicable law,” observed the court.

Meanwhile, the creditors, in a statement, hailed the order and stated, “We are gratified (that) the Court unequivocally recognized that Riju Ravindran. Camshaft, and BYJU’s together conducted a deliberate fraud on a global scale arising from the theft of $533 million. This is a significant step forward in the lenders’ efforts to recover the stolen funds that are rightfully owed to them”.

This came on the same day as Raveendran, in a LinkedIn Post, reposted by wife and. Former BYJU’S director Divya Gokulnath, trained guns at the edtech’s TLB lenders. In the post, he alleged that he and several employees of the corporation received a document with “conclusive evidence of criminal collusion” between EY India, Glas Trust and the interim resolution professional (IRP) “who was appointed by an Indian court to protect BYJU’S but. Ended up destroying it”.

At the heart of all this is the $ Bn TLB extended by 37 financial institutions to the troubled edtech major through a credit agreement in November 2021. As funding winter escalated, the business defaulted on the payments, which led to the creditors dragging BYJU’S to various courts.

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[Update] Paisabazaar Cofounder Naveen Kukreja Steps Down From CEO’s Role

Besides bolstering Paisabazaar’s expansion in the unsecured and secured lending space, Agarwal will also lead the business’s foray into pensions and savings segments.

Ashutosh Mishra has also resigned from the role of Policybazaar’s CFO and will be replaced by Vivek Audichya, who resigned as the CFO of Paisabazaar.

Kukreja will be succeeded by Santosh Agarwal as Paisabazaar’s new CEO.

Building on these developments, in the latest top-level reshuffle at PB Fintech, Naveen Kukreja, the cofounder of its wholly owned subsidiary Paisabazaar Marketing and. Consulting, has stepped down from the role of the CEO of the credit marketplace.

Meanwhile, Ashutosh Mishra has resigned from the role of the CFO of the enterprise’s insurance marketplace and wholly owned subsidiary Policybazaar Insurance Brokers. He will step down from his post, effective March 31, 2025. Mishra will be replaced by Vivek Audichya, who has quit the position of Paisabazaar’s CFO.

Filling in for Audichya will be Neeraj Tripathi, who has been appointed as the CFO and new key managerial personnel (KMP) of Paisabazaar from March 1, 2025.

All the changes were approved by the board members of the respective subsidiaries during a meeting held on Thursday (February 27).

In an exchange filing. PB Fintech revealed that Kukreja will “step away” from running day to day operations at Paisabazaar and will explore other opportunities within PB Fintech. The enterprise added that Kukreja will take up the role of PB Fintech’s group president and will advise the enterprise on the future strategy for Paisabazaar.

Nevertheless, Kukreja will continue to be a KMP and. A member of the enterprise’s board as a non-executive director.

“… He (Kukreja) would also help us explore other opportunities from a long-term perspective. He continues to be aligned with PB Fintech, and a valued senior leader. Our hope is that in the next few months he will identify a valuable opportunity within PB Fintech. Which we would love to back,” the business added.

Kukreja has been succeeded by Santosh Agarwal as Paisabazaar’s new CEO. Prior to the appointment, Agarwal headed PB Fintech’s life insurance business as the chief business officer at Policybazaar. While she will take charge post March 1, 2025, Kukreja will continue to help guide the transition over the next few months, added the corporation.

“Santosh Agarwal would be taking over as Chief Executive Officer (KMP) of Paisabazaar and. Would study into Mr. Yashish Dahiya to drive the business starting March 1, 2025… The Board, NRC and management considered various external and internal candidates and made this decision through a competitive process and we are super excited at having Santosh take on this opportunity,” read the filing.

She will also work with the insurtech major’s top brass to guide the life insurance business in the short term and. Formulate strategies for Paisabazaar to leverage insurance opportunities. Agarwal will also bolster Paisabazaar’s expansion in the unsecured and secured lending space and lead the organization’s foray into pensions and savings segments.

The announcements came barely hours after Policybazaar’s corporate insurance arm Policybazaar for Business roped in industry veteran Amitabh Dewan to oversee its large corporate risk business.

PB Fintech is shoring up its top brass as it looks to foray into the healthcare segment. Group chairman and CEO Yashish Dahiya, in December 2024, stated that PB Fintech would make a one-time investment of $100 Mn to acquire a 30% stake in a new healthcare business, without elaborating further.

Meanwhile. PB Fintech reported its fifth consecutive profitable quarter in the third quarter (Q3) of the ongoing fiscal year (FY25). The firm reported a 92% jump in its consolidated profit after tax (PAT) to INR Cr during the quarter under review from INR Cr in the year-ago period.

Operating revenue zoomed 48% to INR 1, Cr in Q3 FY25 from INR Cr in Q3 FY24.

(Note: The story and headline have been updated to rectify Naveen’s name).

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Perplexity’s India Playbook, Govt’s Startup Challenge & More

Perplexity Piggybacks On Paytm To Gain Ground In India.

Perplexity is looking to make inroads in India, one of the largest digital markets globally. As part of this, the US-based AI giant has tied up with Paytm to provide consumers with real-time financial assistance on the fintech major’s app.

For the Aravind Srinivas-led organization. The integration is expected to unlock a treasure trove of financial data for training its AI models. Besides, the US-based tech giant will also piggyback on Paytm’s network effects to introduce Perplexity’s offerings to Indian individuals.

On the other hand. Paytm will also gain much from the partnership. Besides, the latest offering of an AI-powered search bar, which allows consumers to ask questions and make financial decisions, Paytm also plans to leverage Perplexity’s LLMs to roll out “AI-first experiences” as well as new attributes such as portfolio management, savings. And expenditure control.

The partnership with Paytm appears to be part of Perplexity’s multi-pronged strategy to shore up its presence in the country. Last month, the firm made its premium subscription tier free for students and faculty members of IIT Madras. Following this, he also introduced to invest more than $10 Mn in an Indian AI firm that can beat DeepSeek R1 on all benchmarks.

Moglix Gets $ Mn Infusion: The B2B ecommerce unicorn has raised INR 107 Cr from its Singapore-based parent since December last year. After receiving shareholder nod in October last year, the Indian arm secured the capital in four tranches.

How SaaS Bets Are Evolving With The AI Boom: Stellaris Venture Partners believes that with the AI boom. SaaS is being put through the churn. Therefore, it is shifting its investment focus from horizontal to vertical SaaS while keeping an eye on AI-powered productisation of the services economy.

Perfios’ INR 645 Cr ESOP Scheme: The fintech SaaS startup’s board has greenlit a proposal to grant Lakh stock options to its employees under the Perfios ESOP 2025-A scheme. This comes as the enterprise is looking to float its much-anticipated $500 Mn IPO.

Ex-Gaana CEO’s Startup Bag Funds: FanTV, founded by Prashan Agarwal. Has secured $3 Mn in a round led by Mysten Labs. The startup helps customers create and share digital content using AI tools, on the blockchain Sui, across formats.

DroneAcharya Gets DGCA’s Stamp: The drone manufacturing major has received a type certification from the statutory body for its multipurpose drone. AgriVeer. Under Drone Rules, 2021, companies are mandated to seek DGCA type certificates to comply with norms.

Govt’s INR 30 Cr Startup Challenge: DPIIT has partnered with VC firms to offer financial support and mentorship to innovative startups across 11 key sectors. Including AI and deeptech. The Startup Maha Rathi Challenge is part of the second edition of Startup Mahakumbh.

CBI On GainBitcoin Scam’s Tail: The agency has seized cryptos worth INR 24 Cr after two-day search operations across 60 locations in connection with the ongoing investigation into the crypto scam. Which bilked victims out of INR 6,600 Cr.

Wow! Momo Records Flat FY24 Losses: The QSR chain reported losses to the tune of INR Cr in FY24. Up from INR Cr in the year ago period. However, operating revenue jumped YoY to INR 470 Cr in FY24.

Additionally, this Startup Is Revolutionising Real-Time Surveillance With AI.

Though the video analytics ecosystem has existed for a long time. Its marriage with AI-driven tech has taken the sector to a new level. Leading the charge in this space is Cairovision.

Founded in 2023 by deeptech startup CamfyVision’s cofounder Vedpal Singh, the startup bolsters real-time surveillance with its facial recognition, vehicle tracking, material tracking, and process automation offering.

The Bengaluru-based startup caters to various industries such as renewable energy, logistics, hospitality, retail, and law enforcement and counts Adani Ports & Logistics, Siemens Gamesa, Bengaluru Police, Tata Solar and others as its clients.

The startup was part of the maiden cohort for Games 24×7’s TechXpedite Accelerator Programme, which offers mentorship opportunities as well as technology credits worth over $500K.

Moving forward, the enterprise plans to broaden its horizon of serving different sectors and help clients leverage data for smarter and more efficient operations.

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