Edtech Roundup - November 2022
The edtech industry is growing exponentially with every passing day. The number of companies in the sector has shown positive growth, and so has the investment. Given the expansion of the edtech industry, the sector has successfully placed itself on the radar of high-net-worth entrepreneurs and investors.
In fact, by 2025, the spending on digital education technology is expected to reach a whopping $342 billion. Furthermore, by 2028, the total value of the global market for educational technology and smart classrooms is projected to reach $259.1 billion, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.8%. Not to forget that the edtech market could be worth $605 billion by 2027.
Undoubtedly, several factors will drive this growth. These include newer product launches, partnerships, and edtech trends like AI-driven learning, Big Data, and Adaptive Learning. And thus, to understand the developments in the edtech industry, here is a quick overview of some of the prominent happenings in the edtech space in November.
1. Great Learning Anticipates Clocking Rs 1,000+ Crore in Revenue
Great Learning anticipates doubling its revenue to almost Rs 1,000 crore for FY23, while a rising number of edtech businesses are laying off teams to preserve cash and concentrate on profitability. Byju's owned edtech company, which specializes in the market for higher and professional education, aims to add around 500 new employees over the next six months.
Founded by Lakhamraju in 2013, Great Learning was acquired by Byju's in a deal for $600 million in total. Through this collaboration, Byju's technology and content knowledge will be combined with Great Learning's comprehensive library of professional development training materials. As per a statement from the founder, the company clocked a revenue of Rs 600 crore last year and is growing strongly.
2. Amazon Academy to Discontinue in India
In January 2021, Amazon established Amazon Academy to help students prepare for the Joint Admissions Examination (JEE) for engineering schools. This shift allowed them to compete with leading edtech firms like Byju's, Unacademy, and Vedantu and tap into India's $180 billion education market.
Unfortunately, after review sessions, Amazon plans to discontinue its academy in India from August 2023. It will do so strategically to avoid putting its current customers through trouble. Full online course materials will be available to customers for an extra year until October 2024. To top it all off, anyone enrolled in the current class at Amazon Academy will get a complete refund of their tuition.
3. Harappa Ventures in the US Market, Aims to Upskill 55,000 People
Founded by Pramath Raj Sinha and Shreyasi Singh, Harappa, an upGrad-backed edtech firm, has released its offerings in the US market and intends to expand. Through its learning, application, experience, and coaching programs, Harappa hopes to help 55,000 individuals improve their skills.
The training courses were designed to help employees deal with issues common in today's workplaces throughout the United States. With over 250,000 individuals at over 200 organizations currently using Harappa's rapidly increasing range of programs, the firm is certain that it can provide a game-changing service to its US customers and assist them in establishing a strong foundation of future managers.
4. upGrad Plans to Hire 1400+ Employees
On Wednesday, upGrad, a leading edtech company, stated that it will hire more than 1,400 people by March 2023 as part of its ongoing development and expansion ambitions. The corporation will be hiring individuals for positions in its India and international offices from November 2022 through March 2023.
Faculty, Trainers, and Subject Matter Experts will make up the largest segment of the 1,400 total employees, followed by Sales and Marketing, Content and Delivery, and finally, the Learning Experience.
5. Byju's Revenue to Grow Three-Fold and Losses Halved
Amidst an investigation by the ICAI over concerns that there may be problems with Byju's financial statements, Byju Raveendran, Founder and CEO of Byju's, shared that Byju's anticipates a threefold increase in income and a more than 50% reduction in losses in FY 22.
As for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021, BYJU's reported a loss of Rs 4,588 crore and Rs 2,428 crore in revenue. Furthermore, to get BYJU on track to become profitable by March 2023 and to add to its existing strength of 20,000 teachers, co-founder Divya Gokulnath said that the firm would be letting off around 2,500 employees and hiring 10,000 more teachers.
Wrapping Up
The educational system in India has challenges on several fronts, including financial and geographical ones, that edtech companies are addressing.
Now, owing to technological advancements, they can provide professors from all over the globe and students in India with a fully decentralized and democratic setting to study. These leading edtech firms are revolutionizing the space by leveraging AI, Big Data, and advanced learning to enhance their offerings.
The sector is unquestionably expanding at a dizzying rate, with major steps being taken regularly to ensure continued success.