Byju’s Fall and the Hard Times for India’s Edtech Startups

During Covid, platforms like PhysicsWallah, Unacademy, Vedantu, Classplus, upGrad, Pareeksha and Study IQ grew fast. Students studied from home and online courses sold well. When schools and colleges reopened, many students went back to regular classes. Pure online models took a big hit. Byju’s suffered the most because of overspending, management and weak returns on big investments.

Players who mixed online with offline did better. PhysicsWallah built physical centres alongside its app and YouTube content. It now earns strong revenue and even went public. Traditional coaches like Khan Sir, Neetu Ma’am and KD Campus still rely mainly on offline classes for SSC, banking and other exams. Students like the discipline and face-to-face teaching of a real classroom.

New startups in exam preparation face a tough road. Even when they have a working website, office, returning customers, thousands of users and some revenue, investors often say no. Pareeksha.in is one example.

Despite having real traction, raising money to grow has been very hard. Many investors simply reject anything related to edtech after the Byju’s mess.

Two more challenges have appeared. Railways now holds regular yearly exams for many posts, so demand for preparation is still there. But the government is also stepping in.

In his 15 August speech, PM Modi announced free online coaching for competitive exams.

Uttarakhand has approved the Chief Minister Yuva Bhavishya Nirman Yojana-2026 to give free online coaching for UPSC, SSC, banking, railways and other exams.

Good for students, but it makes private startups and coaching institutes lose learners.

Pareeksha recently offered a free yearly pass to support the idea of a developed Bharat by 2047. The move is positive, yet running a business on very low or free pricing for long is difficult.

The big lesson is clear. Fast growth without strong foundations does not last. Today’s edtech survivors focus on hybrid models, real results and careful spending. For smaller startups, the road is longer and tougher. Demand for good exam prep still exists, but easy funding and pure online dreams are mostly gone.