E-commerce giant Amazon is reportedly shutting down its online learning platform Amazon Academy in India. The company will shut down the platform in a phased manner starting August 2023. Amazon will also refund to students who have signed up for the current academic batch. Existing customers will get access to full course material until October 2024.
Amazon didn’t disclose why the company shut down its online learning platform. The report from ET claims that the decision is part of Amazon’s ongoing cost-cutting. We already know that most edtech platforms of the country are in crisis due to the reopening of schools, colleges, and coaching institutes.
Amazon Academy was launched in India in early 2021 when India saw edtech boom due to the pandemic. It is currently available on the web and Play Store. The platform press expands preparation for JEE, NEET, and the 10th board. Students get study material, live lectures, mock tests, and comprehensive assessments to practice for different exams.
India is a big market where more than 260 million students go to schools. This is why Facebook and Google also became interested in India’s edtech market. Facebook invested in Unacademy and Google invested in Cuemath. Google also offers several free tools such as G Suite for Education and Google Classroom to help colleges and students in the country.
India’s edtech companies are in crisis. Byju’s, Unacademy, Toppr, WhiteHat Jr, and Vedantu have recently announced layoffs. Edtech funding is also drying and existing investors are also not taking interest in supporting these companies. So, these companies are now trying to control their cash burn. Several edtech startups including Qin1, Udayy, and metaversity already shut down operations.
