2020 might have been a harsh year for startups across India, but it was the year of being at the right place at the right time for India’s edtech companies.
With the corona virus pandemic and the subsequent lockdown that saw schools and colleges close their doors, online learning emerged as the next big thing to watch out for.
India’s biggest edtech startups – BYJU’S, Unacademy, Upgrad, Vedantu, and the likes saw their numbers grow at a rapid pace. That also meant more money from investors hoping to jump on the edtech bandwagon.
online learning platforms valuation in 2022
2020 saw India’s edtech startups raise over $2.2 billion in funding, with BYJU’S alone accounting for $1.35 billion.
While BYJU’s went on to become the world’s most valued edtech startup, Unacademy joined the unicorn club with a valuation of over $2 billion.
One of the biggest examples of growth came from this year’s star edtech player – BYJU’S. From 2015 till March 2020, BYJU’S had 45 million free users on the platform with 3.5 million paid subscribers – in the last few months, the number has gone up to 70 million users and 4.7 million subscribers.
“A lot of them are trying out online learning and that’s happening more than before. Unfortunately, it eventually took a crisis like this for people to try out online learning and all stakeholders, not just students,” BYJU’S founder Byju Raveendran had told Business Insider in an earlier interview in October, 2020.
Even when schools and colleges reopen in 2022, India’s edtech companies expect to continue to hold user interest over the years.
According to a report by PGA Labs and IVCA, India’s education sector is poised to grow from the current $117 billion to $225 billion by FY25. And clearly, India’s edtech companies are all pouncing on the opportunity to gain the biggest market share.