Note: I have mentioned the sources of almost every numbers I have quoted, even at the cost of gross repetition of the same source. Reason? Some of these players are notorious for shutting down people who talk about them.
Byju’s started with a bang. Launched in 2015 as Byju’s – The Learning App, it rode India’s smartphone wave and the craze for online learning. Founder Byju Raveendran went from coaching math in classrooms to running a startup that by 2021 had become the world’s most valued edtech company at $22 billion valuation [newindianexpress.com].
The app attracted tens of millions of users with its slick video lessons and celebrity brand ambassador Shah Rukh Khan, and Byju’s aggressively expanded. It wasn’t just organic growth – the company went on an acquisition spree, spending over $2.8 billion on about a dozen acquisitions by 2021 [en.wikipedia.org].
From coding lessons (WhiteHat Jr.) to coaching institutes (Aakash Institute) and even educational gaming, Byju’s bought its way into every segment of education. It also splurged on glitzy marketing – sponsoring the Indian cricket team and even roping in football icon Lionel Messi as a global face [newindianexpress.com]. Byju’s was the archetypal hyper-growth startup, seemingly unstoppable.
This rapid rise had everyone in awe. Byju’s boasted of 3 million paid subscribers and an 85% annual renewal rate at one point [en.wikipedia.org]. Its learning app became a household name in India, symbolizing the new wave of tech-enabled education. Venture capital piled in, eager to be part of the “next big thing” in edtech that promised to revolutionize learning.
Byju’s, it appeared, had cracked the code of combining education and technology at scale. But as it turned out, that meteoric ascent was built on shaky foundations – and the cracks were soon to show.
The Fall: How Byju’s Became a Cautionary Tale 
By 2023, Byju’s decline was making front-page news. The unicorn’s shine faded almost overnight, revealing a cautionary tale of ambition turned to hubris. The company that once seemed infallible began unraveling under its own weight. Investors and stakeholders got their first jolt when Byju’s finally disclosed its much-delayed financial results: in FY2021, Byju’s had burned through ₹4,588 crore in losses on revenues of just ₹2,280 crore [newindianexpress.com].
In other words, it spent twice as much money as it earned, a red flag obscured during the growth frenzy. This massive loss (up from just ₹262 crore loss the year prior) shocked the ecosystem and hinted that Byju’s hyper-growth was deeply unprofitable.
Soon after, a flurry of distress signals followed. By mid-2023, Byju’s was under government scrutiny – the Enforcement Directorate even raided its Bengaluru offices over potential foreign exchange violations[newindianexpress.com]. Its auditor Deloitte abruptly resigned, citing the company’s failure to provide financial statements on time [newindianexpress.com].
Several prominent board members representing investors quit, leaving only Raveendran and his family on the board [newindianexpress.com]. Byju’s, the star of Indian startups, was now embroiled in legal battles with lenders after allegedly defaulting on a $1.2 billion loan [newindianexpress.com]. Its biggest investor, Prosus, markdowned Byju’s valuation from that heady $22 billion to just $5.1 billion [newindianexpress.com] – a staggering comedown signaling lost confidence.
What went so wrong? A closer look reveals that Byju’s failure was not due to one misstep but a cascade of strategic blunders. The company chased scale at all costs – “a vicious greed and nauseous race to strike gold in the valuation race,” as one investor critic put it [newindianexpress.com]. Byju’s spent big on user acquisition and glossy branding while sidelining the core premise of delivering effective education. It acquired companies left and right, but integration and product quality took a backseat.
An insider pointed out that Byju’s fell prey to “inorganic rise” – reckless mergers, flashy sponsorships, and vanity projects – while neglecting accountability and checks and balances [newindianexpress.com]. In short, Byju’s became a textbook case of startup hubris, believing it could do no wrong. That “God Complex” led the company to prioritize rapid growth over sustainable business fundamentals [newindianexpress.com].
The most damning revelations, however, came from Byju’s own customers. As the company grew, it built a vast sales machine that eventually went rogue. Parents across India began reporting predatory sales tactics – relentless calls, misleading promises, even outright fraud. Byju’s sales reps were accused of targeting vulnerable families (first-generation learners), intimidating them that their child’s future was at risk if they didn’t buy expensive courses [newindianexpress.com].
One investigation found that Byju’s was “buying phone numbers of children and their parents” and harassing them into paying up [newindianexpress.com]. Heartbreaking stories surfaced: a Mumbai domestic worker was pressured into a ₹33,000 course for her 13-year-old and pushed into debt, only to be ghosted when she sought a refund [newindianexpress.com]. Another parent found herself enrolled in a loan without consent, billed for fictitious students, and relentlessly harassed for payment [newindianexpress.com]. Byju’s had gone from an edu-platform to a high-pressure loan peddler in the eyes of these consumers.
Public sentiment flipped. The very people who once saw Byju’s as a savior for their children’s education began to see it as a slick salesman in edtech clothing. Even prominent figures spoke out – noted filmmaker Hansal Mehta blasted Byju’s for trying to scare his daughter into buying programs she didn’t need, calling the sales behavior “aggressive” and unwelcome [newindianexpress.com]. The brand’s trust was shattered as news headlines labeled Byju’s a cautionary tale of edtech gone wrong[newindianexpress.com]. In a sector like education – where trust is paramount – this was the ultimate undoing.
At its core, Byju’s downfall shows that tech and funding cannot paper over fundamental flaws. The company over-indexed on flashy tablets and animated videos while ignoring the need for personal mentorship or a support system for students. “Byju’s was selling hardware…bulldozing their way into making parents buy subscriptions by blackmailing them about their child’s future,” observes Dr. Aniruddha Malpani, highlighting that fancy technology was used as a blunt instrument rather than a teaching aid.
Another education expert noted that Byju’s forgot the importance of peer interaction and hybrid learning, instead pushing pricey online packages onto many low-income students who ultimately dropped out despite paying in full. In the end, by losing sight of learning outcomes, alienating customers, and mismanaging finances, Byju’s went from India’s biggest edtech success story to a sobering failure in a matter of years.
Unacademy’s Struggles in Contrast
Byju’s isn’t the only edtech unicorn learning hard lessons. Unacademy, another high-flying Indian edtech startup, has been struggling to find its footing in the post-pandemic world. At first, Unacademy’s story looked quite different: it began in 2015 as a humble YouTube channel where educators offered free lessons. Over time it evolved into a platform for live classes, attracted funding from the likes of SoftBank, and by 2021 reached a valuation of $3.4 billion.
Unlike Byju’s, Unacademy’s model was built around subscription packages and test-prep courses (think UPSC, IIT-JEE, NEET, etc.), often taught by “star” tutors in live online sessions. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, Unacademy – like most edtech – saw a massive surge in users and paid subscribers.
However, as normalcy returned, Unacademy hit a wall. Growth slowed and the company’s finances slipped deep into the red. In FY2023, Unacademy’s revenue was around ₹1,044 crore but it incurred a colossal ₹1,678 crore loss [businesstoday.in]. Spending had far outpaced earnings, eerily similar to Byju’s situation.
Realizing the need to rein in costs, Unacademy’s founders took drastic measures: marketing budgets were slashed and numerous side ventures shut down. Over the past 2–3 years, Unacademy went through multiple rounds of layoffs (over 1,500 employees in total) to cut burn, including ~1,000 job cuts in April 2022 and another 380 in early 2023 [m.economictimes.com]. The free perks of startup life vanished too – even the CEO publicly announced the end of complimentary meals and luxurious perks, signaling a new era of frugality.
These belt-tightening moves showed some results. For the fiscal year ending March 2024, Unacademy managed to narrow its losses by 62% – posting about ₹631 crore loss on ₹988 crore revenue [businesstoday.in]. Essentially, the company halved its cash burn by significantly reducing expenses. But here’s the catch: even after cutting the fat, Unacademy’s core business shrank. Its FY24 revenue actually dipped from the previous year (₹988 cr vs ₹1,044 cr), a worrying sign that growth has stagnated [businesstoday.in].
In other words, Unacademy is a smaller company today than it was a year ago, though it’s bleeding less. This raises a tough question: is the model fundamentally viable, or only working when propped up by heavy spending?
Unacademy’s struggle, in contrast to Byju’s downfall, has been less about scandal and more about sustainability. The company didn’t face the kind of public outrage Byju’s did – its issues were more traditional: high customer acquisition costs, intense competition, and the challenge of making online learning as effective (and monetizable) as offline coaching.
In fact, Unacademy has been forced to do what would’ve seemed unthinkable in 2020 – embrace the offline model. In 2022, as online demand waned, Unacademy opened brick-and-mortar Unacademy Centres in multiple cities to offer face-to-face classes for IIT-JEE and NEET prep [timesofindia.indiatimes.com]. Essentially, the purely digital disruptor conceded that physical coaching institutes still hold appeal for serious students. By 2023–24, there were even reports that Unacademy was in talks to be acquired by Allen Career Institute – a stalwart of offline coaching – at a valuation of just $800 million (a quarter of its peak valuation)[timesofindia.indiatimes.com]. (Unacademy’s CEO has denied plans of a “fire sale,” insisting they have a long runway, but the fact such a deal was even contemplated speaks volumes about the state of the industry.)*
So why is Unacademy struggling? Simply put, the post-Covid world has shaken out the easy growth. Students flocked back to classrooms; online-only platforms saw engagement drop. Unacademy’s core audience of competitive exam aspirants showed a preference for tried-and-true offline institutes (or hybrid models) once those reopened. Meanwhile, acquiring new students online has become exorbitantly expensive, with high competition from YouTube (free content) and other edtech offerings. Unacademy also expanded into many verticals (UPSC, bank exams, skills, even an ill-fated job prep platform called Relevel), which spread its resources thin.
Now it is retrenching to its core areas, but with a much more cautious outlook. The contrast with Byju’s is clear: Unacademy’s issues are more about a business model under pressure rather than a PR or ethical crisis. Yet, the end result could converge – without a path to profitability or consistent results, even a well-intentioned edtech player can see its valuation and prospects collapse.
What Actually Works in EdTech: Lessons from Allen, PhysicsWallah & Career Launcher 
It’s not all doom and gloom in edtech. While the giants stumbled, other education companies have been quietly thriving by sticking to fundamentals. To understand what actually works, it’s worth comparing Byju’s and Unacademy with the likes of Allen, PhysicsWallah, and Career Launcher – three very different players in the education space that have managed to succeed where the big edtech firms faltered.
Allen Institute – In the middle of the chaos in edtech, Allen Career Institute stands out as a shining example of what works in education. For over three decades, Allen has built its legacy not through aggressive advertising, but through real student outcomes. Its reputation is primarily built around rigorous classroom coaching for IIT-JEE and NEET—India’s toughest competitive exams.
Allen’s financial performance clearly reflects its strength. In FY2023, Allen earned revenues of ₹2,277 crore, and remarkably, achieved a healthy profit of ₹427 crore. Even as its growth accelerated in FY2024—revenue climbing further to ₹3,473 crore—profits dipped slightly due to investments in expanding digital and offline infrastructure. Still, Allen remains one of the few large coaching institutes consistently making money, unlike many of its heavily-funded edtech peers.
Academically, Allen’s achievements are unquestionable. In the JEE Advanced 2023 alone, over 6,600 Allen students qualified, securing multiple top ranks including 4 out of the top 10 positions. In the NEET 2023 exam, Allen maintained a similarly dominant performance, capturing 30 of the top 100 All-India ranks. This consistent record of excellence reinforces why Allen’s classrooms continue to be filled year after year.
Allen’s approach isn’t limited to offline teaching alone. Realizing the potential of hybrid learning, it strategically launched ALLEN Digital in 2022, supported by a significant $600 million investment from Bodhi Tree Systems. Around 70% of these funds were specifically directed toward building robust online platforms and expanding digital learning capabilities.
Moreover, Allen smartly diversified its offerings, branching into segments like Olympiads, study-abroad preparation, and even acquiring tech startups such as the AI-based doubt-solving platform Doubtnut. Such strategic moves demonstrate Allen’s proactive yet cautious expansion, blending traditional classroom rigor with modern digital initiatives.
Unlike Byju’s or Unacademy, Allen hasn’t chased flashy valuations or unsustainable expansion. Instead, it focuses on steady growth, proven pedagogy, affordability, and student trust. Allen’s hybrid model—combining traditional face-to-face coaching with modern digital solutions—offers a blueprint that clearly outlasts the rapid rise-and-fall cycles we’ve seen in edtech.
PhysicsWallah (PW) – the scrappy upstart – offers another blueprint. PW started in 2016 as a one-man YouTube channel by Alakh Pandey, who taught physics in a relatable, engaging style (for free). It gained a cult following among students, and in 2020 the venture turned into a full-fledged edtech platform selling ultra-affordable courses for JEE and NEET prep. How affordable? PW’s year-long courses cost only a few thousand rupees (as low as ₹3,500–₹4,000), a fraction of what Byju’s or others charged. This budget-friendly, content-rich approach struck gold.
Millions of students who couldn’t pay tens of thousands for fancy apps flocked to PW’s simple yet effective offering. The company scaled up rapidly but kept its frugal ethos. It raised a modest amount of funding ($100 million in 2022, becoming a unicorn at $1.1B valuation) and used it to expand content and start hybrid centers, not to flood primetime with ads. By FY2024, PW’s revenue skyrocketed to nearly ₹2,000 crore (a 160% jump year-on-year), reaching that milestone in just its fourth year of operations [yourstory.com]. (For context, Byju’s took almost 9 years to hit the same revenue scale).
This growth did come with increased costs – PW reported losses in FY24 due to expansion into new areas – but importantly, those losses were partly from accounting adjustments and heavy investment into scaling its team and subjects.
The core proposition remains strong: high-quality teaching at mass-market prices. PhysicsWallah succeeded by doing the opposite of Byju’s – minimal marketing, maximum value to students. It leveraged YouTube and word-of-mouth instead of a call center army. The result: an almost fanatical user base and a brand built on trust and relatability. Even as it grows, PW’s challenge will be to maintain quality, but its foundation – affordable education for all – is exactly what India’s edtech scene needed. It’s a reminder that in education, product-market fit is achieved by genuinely solving student problems, not by premium pricing and pushy sales.
Career Launcher (CL) – a veteran in the industry – provides a lesson in sustainable growth. CL (operated by CL Educate Ltd) has been around since the early 2000s, focusing on test prep for MBA, law, civil services and more. It never chased unicorn valuations or blitzscaling. Instead, Career Launcher steadily built a diverse portfolio: coaching centers across India, publishing, and online test prep modules. In the edtech boom, CL didn’t raise crazy venture capital; in fact, it eventually went public on the stock exchange, adhering to the discipline of a listed company.
The outcome? A solid, if unspectacular, business. In the year ending March 2024, CL Educate posted ₹3,324 million in revenue with a net profit of ₹150.9 million [uk.marketscreener.com]. Those numbers are tiny next to Byju’s, but here’s the catch – they made money. CL’s focus on “growth with profits” meant it was never the coolest startup in town, but it also never had to fire thousands of employees or call its creditors begging for extensions. It adapted to technology at its own pace, adding live online classes and digital practice platforms to complement its classroom programs.
Career Launcher’s enduring presence (20+ years) in the market underscores a crucial point: education is a long game. Fads may come and go, but a company that consistently helps students achieve their goals will outlast the hype. In CL’s case, its moderate scale also meant it could maneuver through the pandemic and post-pandemic shifts without imploding – a resilience many high-growth startups lacked.
Comparing these players, some clear patterns emerge. Allen, PhysicsWallah, and Career Launcher all prioritized student outcomes, affordability, and sustainable operations. Allen did it with high-touch coaching and proven results; PhysicsWallah did it with low-cost online content and an everyman appeal; Career Launcher did it with steady, incremental growth and diversification. None of them relied on the kind of aggressive tele-sales or extravagant marketing that Byju’s and others indulged in.
Instead of chasing millions of downloads at any cost, they built real trust – whether through decades of service (Allen, CL) or through a relatable founder-educator persona (PW). They also weren’t afraid to blend offline and online to maximize learning effectiveness. Notably, both Allen and PW now run hybrid models (integrating physical centers), and CL has always been omni-channel. This is in stark contrast to the narrative that pure online was the future – it turns out a combination of digital convenience and human mentorship is what many students need.
Conclusion: Lessons on Building a Successful Education Business
The rollercoaster journey of Byju’s (and the struggles of Unacademy) contain invaluable lessons for anyone in the education business. If there’s a silver lining to Byju’s downfall, it’s that the entire edtech sector has a chance to course-correct and refocus on what truly matters. Here are some key takeaways and lessons on what makes a successful education business in the long run:
- Focus on Learning Outcomes Over Vanity Metrics: Whether you run a tutoring center or an app, the ultimate measure of success is student success. Byju’s poured money into user acquisition and valuations, but it never convincingly showed improved outcomes or satisfaction. Successful players prioritize academic results and genuine learning improvements for their students. Happy, achieving students become your best ambassadors – no amount of ad spend can replace that.
- Sustainable Growth Beats Blitzscaling: Education is a marathon, not a sprint. Growing steadily and soundly is better than explosive growth that implodes. It’s telling that Career Launcher, which grew carefully and stayed profitable, is still standing, whereas a blitzscaled giant like Byju’s is fighting for survival. Businesses must keep an eye on unit economics – you can’t lose money on every customer and make it up in volume (a lesson Byju’s learned the hard way).
- Trust and Ethics Are Non-Negotiable: In an industry where parents entrust you with their child’s future, ethical behavior is paramount. High-pressure sales and broken promises will burn bridges fast. Byju’s decline was accelerated by a collapse in consumer trust due to its sales malpractices. In contrast, brands like Allen built trust over decades by delivering on what they promise. Honesty, transparency, and student-first practices are not just moral choices, they’re good business strategy for the long term.
- Tech is a Tool, Not a Replacement for Teachers: One of the biggest takeaways is that edtech is still 80% “ed” (education) and 20% “tech” – not the other way around. Technology should enhance learning (through scale, personalization, engagement) but it cannot replace the human element in education. Byju’s tried to automate and app-ify everything, sidelining mentorship and peer interaction [newindianexpress.com]. The more successful models, like hybrid classes or interactive live sessions, recognize the importance of human guidance. In short, use tech to empower great teachers, not to eliminate the need for them.
- Affordability and Value Drive Adoption: In price-sensitive markets like India, you can’t build an education business that’s only accessible to the elite. Byju’s costly packages and tablet kits faced an upper limit, prompting them to push sales onto those who couldn’t afford it (with disastrous results). PhysicsWallah showed that offering affordable options at scale is not only viable, it can make you a market leader. The larger goal for any education venture should be to democratize learning, and doing so will win you a massive loyal user base.
Ultimately, the saga of Byju’s failure and the contrasting fortunes of its peers highlight a simple truth: education is about service, not just sale. The companies that remember this – that put students before spreadsheets, and learning before valuations – are the ones that endure. Byju’s downfall and Unacademy’s struggle are a wake-up call, but also a guidepost.
The future of edtech (and education businesses in general) will be shaped by those who take these lessons to heart: marry the best of technology with sound pedagogy, build trust through ethical practices, and never lose sight of the student’s best interests. That’s what it takes to make a successful education business – one that stands the test of time, even after the hype cycle has long passed.