Ed-tech trailblazer Adda247 recently made a bold move, bidding farewell to approximately 250-300 of its team members across various departments. This decision marks the company's first round of layoffs in recent memory, despite enjoying support from WestBridge Capital.
A significant chunk of these job cuts, roughly 100-150, were concentrated within StudyIQ, a UPSC-focused ed-tech platform that Adda247 acquired for around $20 million in December 2021. Furthermore, key segments like sales, content, and faculty at Adda247 also saw their ranks reduced by about 150 employees, according to a confidential insider.
In October the previous year, Adda247 secured a substantial $35 million in funding, with Westbridge leading the way. Google also joined the investment party, alongside existing backers Info Edge, Asha Edu Tech, and JM Financial.
Notably, Adda247 is among a select few Indian startups, like Dunzo, to have Google as a direct investor. Typically, Google supports startups through its investment arm, CapitalG.
As per data from startup intelligence platform TheKredible, Adda247 had successfully raised over $60 million and had a valuation of $175 million in its most recent funding round.
Anonymous sources revealed that the employees who were let go were given no prior notice and were asked to resign abruptly. This drastic downsizing was deemed necessary to secure the company's financial runway in a challenging funding environment for the ed-tech sector, where prospects for improved investment conditions seem uncertain.
Notably, Adda247 declined to comment on this development.
Founded by Anil Nagar and Saurabh Bansal, Adda247 primarily focuses on preparing candidates for public sector (government) jobs, including those in railways, banking, SSC, and other tier II & III positions. In recent years, the company expanded its scope to include K-12, JEE, NEET, and GATE exam preparations.
Despite witnessing a substantial 68.3% increase in revenue, reaching Rs 61.5 crore in FY22 compared to Rs 36.55 crore in FY21, the company also experienced a notable uptick in losses, surging by 90% to Rs 28.8 crore in FY22 from Rs 15.2 crore in the previous fiscal year. As of now, Adda247 has not yet filed its annual report for FY23.
While layoffs in the ed-tech sector have been on the decline, the cumulative count has risen, partly due to a large-scale downsizing at Byju's, which could potentially affect over 4,000 employees. In the current year (2023), Indian startups have seen more than 22,000 layoffs, a figure that surpasses the previous year by 2,000.
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