Founder Karan Bajaj leaves Whitehat Jr a year after acquisition by Byju's

Karan Bajaj, the founder of WhiteHat Jr, announced his departure from the company on Wednesday, a year after the coding platform was acquired by edtech behemoth Byju's. Bajaj announced his departure from the company he founded in 2018 in a LinkedIn post.

“As I move on to new paths, my deep gratitude to over 17,000 employees and teachers who weren’t a part of my life just two years ago. Thank you for trusting me through thick and thin, I know almost each one of you and will always remember you very, very warmly!” he said. Bajaj also thanked Byju’s founder Byju Raveendran, saying he has a deep respect for the educator “who’ll change the nature of education to active, creative learning the world over”.

Trupti Mukker, the organization's former Head of Customer Experience and Delivery, will take over as CEO.

“A warm welcome to Trupti Mukker, my classmate from IIM and a leader I’ve admired from far for two decades. I know her competent, compassionate leadership will enable thousands of women to enter the mainstream workforce as WhiteHat Jr/Byju’s FutureSchool expands into new countries and courses,” Bajaj said. While he did not disclose his next destination, Bajaj said he will “carve out a career in public service next”.

“I’ve never had a more stretching, challenging, intense but ultimately satisfying few years in my life. And I hope I can replicate it in some form as I look ahead to try to carve out a career in public service next, after transitioning deeply and taking a small sabbatical,” he added.

Byju's paid USD 300 million for WhiteHat Jr in August 2020. (about Rs 2,240 crore). The company began as a coding training platform for children but has since expanded to include mathematics and music curriculum as well. Beyond India and the United States, it has expanded to Brazil, Mexico, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

Byju's founder and CEO, Byju Raveendran, announced the news in an email to employees,

“Having more than exceeded all our mutually outlined goals for the first year, Karan is now ready, as we had mutually decided at the time of acquisition, to progress to the next chapter of his life,”

WhiteHat Jr is a live online 1:1 platform that connects kids ages 5 to 12 to top early childhood coding teachers from the comfort of their own homes. WhiteHat Jr teaches children the fundamentals of coding logic, structure, and algorithmic thinking in order to help them generate creative results.

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