Page 20 - Edtech

Edtech unicorn Unacademy lays off 380 employees in latest round of job cuts

The Softbank-backed start-up last laid off 350 employees in November

upGrad closes Rs 300 cr internal funding round from existing investors

Major investors in the rights include co-founder Ronnie Screwvala (Rs 212 cr) and Singapore-based Temasek (Rs 81 cr)

Programming platform CodeChef hives off from Unacademy amid funding crunch

Firm will now function as an independent unit run by its current team; Unacademy will, however, hold 30% in it as an investor, has also infused some capital to help it run for next 12-18 months

BS Weekend Bites: Crises, Finance Bill, Rahul, and PhysicsWallah in winter

In which we munch over the week's platter of news and views

Edtech firm Byju's likely to close $250 mn equity fund raise in April

Edtech major Byju's is likely to close a USD 250 million equity funding deal in April at a USD 22 billion valuation, sources aware of the development said. The company had last raised USD 250 million in October at the same valuation. "Byju's is in the process of raising USD 250 million. The term sheets are expected to close in about 2-3 weeks," a source told PTI. Another source said the fundraising is an equity deal and happening at a flat valuation of USD 22 billion. When contacted Byju's declined to comment. The company had last raised USD 250 million from existing investors and Qatar Investment Authority. The company attained a valuation of USD 22 billion in the funding round of USD 800 million, announced in March 2022. Byju's has set a target to become profitable by the end of this month. The company retrenched 2,500 employees under the plan and hired 10,000 teachers for India and overseas. Byju's booked a loss of Rs 4,588 crore for the fiscal ended March 2021 -- 19 times

Edtech major BYJU's, Aakash deny merger talks with rival Unacademy

Edtech major BYJU's on Friday denied reports that it is considering a merger of rival Gaurav Munjal-run Unacademy into Aakash Educational Services

BYJU's set to close $250 mn funding round soon at flat valuation

At a group level, BYJU's had said its top priority is to achieve "overall profitability by March 2023"

Amid tech layoffs, Ronnie Screwvala's upGrad reports uptick in upskilling

upGrad works with over 400 global companies to upskill their talent

Asci seeks feedback on updating its guidelines for education ads

Regulator will accept inputs till April 15, new directives go beyond factual claims to try and curb negative habits and stereotypes linked to learning

Edtech startup Byju's to raise $250 mn in Aakash pre-IPO funding

Aakash is eyeing an initial public offering (IPO) and it is looking to raise the capital to create an interim event and set the stage, according to the sources

Duolingo bets big on India, as Indians learn Korean, High Valyrian, French

India is now the US edtech firm's fifth largest market by daily active users (DAUs) and the second fastest-growing among its top 10 markets in 2022

upGrad subsidiary Campus lays off 30% of workforce amid funding crunch

This is the second upGrad arm to have recently laid off staff. Last December, Harappa Education, which upGrad had bought for Rs 300 cr in July 2022, let go of 70 people

Arvind Mafatlal Group plans to scale up its edtech venture GetSetLearn

The Group is looking to build the world's largest hybrid curated marketplace for learning services, says Priyavrata Mafatlal, Vice Chairman, Arvind Mafatlal Group

Edtech firm PhysicsWallah announces joint venture with Utkarsh Classes

Edtech firm PhysicsWallah has inked a long-term agreement to form a joint venture with Jodhpur-headquartered Utkarsh Classes, according to a statement. With this venture, the companies plan on leveraging each other's core competencies to deliver value-adding education across all examinations and jointly make a foray into new exam categories. PhysicsWallah Founder and CEO Alakh Pandey, said, Our collaboration will help us better serve students across India and make their learning experience more enriching. Both companies have a strong digital presence and operate multiple YouTube channels for various exam categories. Utkarsh Classes has over 11 million subscribers on its main channel on YouTube, and PhysicsWallah has more than 9.7 million subscribers on its main channel. Further, both companies cater to over 1 crore students each on their apps. Founder and CEO of Utkarsh Classes, Nirmal Gehlot noted that founders of both companies come from a humble background, and understand the .

No plans to shut down WhiteHat Jr, merely optimising it: Byju's

Last year, Byju's laid off about 600 employees at its group companies - WhiteHat Jr and Toppr

Byju's to shut coding platform WhiteHat Jr as part of restructuring

WhiteHat Jr shut its schools division that targeted to take its flagship coding curriculum to 10 lakh school students by the next academic year

Edtech startup NxtWave raises $33 mn, Greater Pacific Capital leads round

Nandan Desai, MD and Co-Head of India for GPC, to join NxtWave Board as part of deal; Existing investor Orios Venture Partners also invests in round

Byju's in funding talks with TPG, West Asian sovereign funds as debt weighs

Negotiations are ongoing and it's unclear if the prospective investors will go ahead with a deal, the people said, who asked not to be identified as the information is private

Edtech giant Byju's lays off nearly 1,000 employees across verticals

According to the company sources, the layoffs are part of the"optimisation" strategy announced last year where the company plans to sack 2,500, or 5 per cent, of its employees

Edtech major Byju's lays off over 1,000 employees from engineering teams

The edtech sector has laid off the most employees, with 16 edtech startups laying off more than 8,000 employees to date