As pandemic boom fades, can ed-tech startups survive?

As the pandemic receded, the business models of India’s ed-tech startups have started to unravel. With schools re-opening across the country, demand for online tuition has dwindled, affecting the revenue of ed-tech companies in recent months.

The pandemic helped this sector as much of the country’s $180 billion education sector went online. Companies rode a boom in the online education industry over the last two years as they bet big on the pandemic-related phenomena.

Indian ed-tech startups raised $4.7 billion in 2021, up from $2.2 billion in 2020. This made ed-tech space the third most funded Indian start-up category, only behind e-commerce at $10.7 billion and fintech at $8 billion.