Gautam Thakar resigns as head of Prosus' global edtech vertical

Gautam Thakar, the chief executive of Dutch investment company Prosus' global edtech vertical and a global operating partner at the firm, has resigned from his position.

"After nearly 25 years in global leadership positions, I want to dedicate my time now to the exciting Indian market opportunity," Thakar said in an interview with ET.

While Thakar has stepped aside from the full-time role, he will continue to be a board member on some companies, sources privy to the development informed ET.

Thakar led Prosus' investments in firms like OLX Brazil, Takealot in South Africa, Stack Overflow and Brainly in the US, Goodhabitz in Europe, and PayU India, alongside the company's edtech portfolio.

Following his tenure as Olx Autos' chief executive, Thakar came on board at Prosus in August 2023, when the company carried out an internal restructuring. It was doing this while splitting edtech and food delivery into standalone segments with separate leaderships at the time, ET had earlier reported.

Prosus declined to comment on Thakar's resignation. The news was initially reported by Mint.

Prosus has invested $8.6 billion in India and still views the country with great growth prospects. It has made investments in the likes of Swiggy, Rapido Urban Company, and Bluestone. It was also one of the key investors in Byju's. In June 2024, Prosus had written off its 9.6% stake in the cash-strapped edtech firm.

Prosus had also invested $500 million in Byju's over the years in one of its biggest edtech bets in India, valuing the firm at around $5.1 billion in March 2023. The firm is now facing insolvency proceedings.

Earlier, during an interaction with ET, Prosus CEO Fabricio Bloisi had also reiterated the company's intention to continue backing early- to late-stage firms in India even after the $500 million write-off.

Recently, Prosus invested in Arivihan, a vernacular edtech firm providing automated, customized coaching for school-going students.

Although Prosus still has edtech plays in India and internationally through Emeritus, Brainly, Skillsoft, and Stack Overflow, Arivihan is its maiden investment in the Indian vernacular space