Amazon to shut down its edtech platform in India, refund customers

Amazon said on Thursday it will shut down its edtech offering in India from August 2023 and refund the full fees to those enrolled in the current academic batch.

The e-commerce giant launched Amazon Academy in January 2021 to cater to students preparing for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) to engineering colleges. The move enabled it to take on top edtech companies such as Byju’s, Unacademy, Vedantu and traditional education institutes and tap the country’s $180-billion education sector which has gone online to adapt to the new reality.

“Following an assessment, we have made the decision to discontinue Amazon Academy,” said an Amazon spokesperson. “We are winding down this program in a phased manner to take care of current customers.”