EDTECH UNICORN
AI became the teacher of the year
AI is transforming the landscape of education as lecturers and EdTech platforms across the country utilise the technology for teaching, testing, and assessment. Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT have found their way into Indian classrooms. However, AI also presents potential drawbacks. It may stifle creative thinking among young learners due to an over-reliance on technology.
Fintech sector will dominate future Unicorns at USD 58 billion: Hurun report
The total worth of India's future unicorns will stand at USD 58 billion, an increase of 1.2 per cent as compared to last year. Fintech sector leads with the highest number of companies that can become Unicorns in future.
HSBC estimates Prosus stake in ecommerce unicorn Elastic Run at $200 million
HSBC, in a research note dated May 21, nearly halved the valuation estimate for B2B company Elastic Run, pushing its valuation below the $1-billion 'unicorn' mark. The startup, backed by SoftBank and Prosus, was last valued at $1.5 billion in 2022.
Unacademy cofounder and CTO Hemesh Singh quits edtech startup
Hemesh Singh, cofounder of Unacademy, transitions from CTO to advisory role after a decade. Singh's exit is the latest in a series of high profile exits from the edtech startup, which now primarily focuses on offline test preparation. Despite multiple layoffs, Unacademy reduced its net loss by 41% in fiscal 2023.
Top startup & tech stories this week
Welcome to a brand new edition of ETtech Unwrapped – our weekend newsletter. The week was packed with important stories broken by our reporters. Here’s a recap if you missed these stories.
How Unacademy board tweaked targets for founders’ voting rights
Edtech unicorn Unacademy has changed the target for its cofounders Gaurav Munjal and Hemesh Singh to access additional voting rights through bonus shares issued to them in 2022. Industry sources said this move throws light on Unacademy’s changing ambitions as well as the broader sluggishness in the startup funding ecosystem.
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Meesho closes $275 million funding in first tranche, in talks for more
Meesho secures $275M funding in a $600M round. Share transfers hinted in SEC filing. In total, Meesho has raised $1.36 billion – including secondaries – since 2015.
Pocket FM completes first ever Esop buyback worth $8.3 million
Pocket FM completes $8.3 million Esop buyback for 800 employees, with 25% Esops vested in the first year. Recently raised $103 million from Lightspeed Ventures and Stepstone Group, aiming for a $1.2 billion valuation with ADIA.
Not how fast but how long they live
The next wave of startup funding will be driven by investors seeking quick dispersal of AI among economic processes. AI has the potential to disrupt and create value at a pace faster than previous technology cycles.
Physics Wallah shrugs off profit drop, plans more offline centres
Chief executive Alakh Pandey told ET that the offline business at Physics Wallah now contributes 40% of total revenue although it accounts for only 5% of its student base and the company is aiming to take the revenue share to about 45%.
Nexus MD Sameer Brij Verma quits; will launch multi-stage fund
The fund will likely be $150-200 million in size, Verma will be a solo partner with a team of around a dozen executives.
Decoding the digital competition law; Perfios turns unicorn
India’s consumer internet firms have expressed reservations about the ex-ante framework in the proposed digital competition law. This and more in today’s ETtech Top 5.
Byju’s empties offices; Made-in-India AI models
Cash-strapped edtech firm Byju’s is vacating multiple offices and tuition centres countrywide as part of a cost-cutting drive. This and more in today’s ETtech Top 5.
Amazon’s Bazaar to challenge Meesho; AI & edtech
Amazon has started onboarding sellers from across the country and is asking them to list unbranded products, priced at Rs 600 or less. The platform will offer products like apparel, watches, shoes, jewellery and luggage.
Edtech Upgrad aims for IPO in two years
Cofounder and managing director Mayank Kumar said the company will go for an IPO once it reaches milestones such as achieving $750 million in revenue, maintaining an 80% gross margin, and sustaining a 15% net margin.
Post Byju’s, investors worried about governance at startups: GSV Ventures' Deborah Quazzo
GSV Ventures has backed Indian edtech unicorns including Eruditus, Lead, PhysicsWallah as well as startups like Classplus. Deborah Quazzo also spoke about the lack of equilibrium between edtech founders and investors on valuations, which is delaying fundraises in the sector.
Edtech unicorn Emeritus story now a Harvard Business School case study
The study, titled ‘Emeritus: Achieving impact, providing access’, traces the first phase of the Emeritus’ founding journey by cofounders Ashwin Damera and Chaitanya Kalipatnapu. Authored by HBS senior lecturer Ashish Nanda and research associate Zack Kurtovich, it chronicles the origins of Emeritus’s journey from idea to achieving global scale.
Edtech unicorn Lead Group appoints new CGO, CFO
While Arpit Jain will spearhead the finance and legal functions of the group, CGO Arvind Singhal will be tasked with providing a comprehensive direction to develop and implement its growth strategy to serve more schools and students across India.
Eruditus joins queue of reverse flips by Indian startups, weighs IPO
Edtech unicorn Eruditus is planning a shift in domicile from Singapore to India, or reverse flipping, and joins the growing list of Indian internet firms — Pine Labs, Udaan, Razorpay and Groww, among others. Eruditus is evaluating a listing on the domestic bourses.
Edtech unicorn Physics Wallah’s FY23 revenue jumps three-fold to Rs 772 crore, profit falls
Physics Wallah reported a fall in its net profit to Rs 16 crore in FY23 from Rs 98 crore in the previous fiscal, on account of a jump in its employee costs and provisioning of certain non-cash expenses.
Startup story set for better script in new year after unicorns, funds fall in 2023
Startups with sustainable business models as well as the well-capitalised ones are expected to weather the current turmoil. And the horizon in 2024 is expected to be "exciting" as well as "challenging".
Physics Wallah eyes offline expansion in 2024 with 100 physical centres
“Currently, we have more than 60 centres. By next year we are targeting 100 centres. This year we catered to 1.4 lakh students, which should go up to 2.4 lakh,” cofounder Prateek Maheshwari said.
Upgrad logs 96% revenue rise in FY23, losses widen 67% too
The company has slightly narrowed its EBITDA loss to Rs 558 crore in the period, against Rs 572 crore a year ago, the statement added.
Banks wary of credit on UPI by fintechs; layoffs at edtech unicorn Physics Wallah
Indian fintechs are eyeing credit lines on UPI as their next big growth opportunity but banks want to put the brakes on the growth of unsecured credit. This and more in today’s ETech Morning Dispatch.
Edtech startup Physics Wallah lays off 120 staffers after performance evaluation
The decision, undertaken after a mid-term appraisal analysis ended in October, is aimed at ensuring Physics Wallah’s primary focus on maintaining a high-performing team, a top official told ET.
ETtech Explainer: why startup unicorns, other large unlisted companies may come under tighter scrutiny
Before we examine the implications for startups, let’s delve into what corporate governance entails and how it’s going to shape India’s startup ecosystem.
Edtech firm Unacademy’s COO Vivek Sinha resigns
Sinha had joined the company in 2020 after a decade with organisations such as Reliance Energy, Lodha, MobiKwik and Oyo.
Edtech startup PhysicsWallah to launch 26 Vidyapeeth offline centres
Currently, the Noida-based startup has 67 centres operational in 38 cities. The offline centres will offer a curriculum for engineering and medical entrance examinations.
Indian edtech companies eye larger offline play in post-pandemic world
The edtech sector scaled record highs during the pandemic as education moved online, but has since been among the worst affected in terms of funding and layoffs, particularly in the tuition, K12 and test-prep segments.
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