India’s edtech in charts – How the shift to online learning meant money, valuation and users for the likes of BYJU’S, Unacademy, and others

• 2020 gave the biggest boost to India’s edtech startups – all of whom have registered growth in users, valuations, and funding.
• According to a report by PGA Labs and IVCA, India’s education sector is poised to grow from the current $117 billion to $225 billion by FY25.
• Here’s a look at how the year panned out for India’s edtech sector.

2020 might have been a tough year for startups across India, but it was the year of being at the right place at the right time for India’s edtech companies.

With the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent lockdown that saw schools and colleges close their doors, online learning emerged as the next big thing to watch out for.

India’s biggest edtech startups – BYJU’S, Unacademy, Upgrad, Vedantu, and the likes saw their numbers grow at a rapid pace. That also meant more moolah from investors hoping to jump on the edtech bandwagon.

2020 saw India’s edtech startups raise over $2.2 billion in funding, with BYJU’S alone accounting for $1.35 billion.


While BYJU’s went on to become the world’s most valued edtech startup, Unacademy joined the unicorn club with a valuation of over $2 billion.

Here are the top funded edtech startups of 2020


And the funding flow also meant the valuation of India’s top startups jumped massively.


But it wasn’t just the investors dumping their faith in India’s edtech companies; the money flowed in as the online learning companies reported growth in numbers.

One of the biggest examples of growth came from this year’s star edtech player – BYJU’S. From 2015 till March 2020, BYJU’S had 45 million free users on the platform with 3.5 million paid subscribers – in the last few months, the number has gone up to 70 million users and 4.7 million subscribers.

“A lot of them are trying out online learning and that’s happening more than before. Unfortunately, it eventually took a crisis like this for people to try out online learning and all stakeholders, not just students,” BYJU’S founder Byju Raveendran had told Business Insider in an earlier interview in October, 2020.


Even when schools and colleges reopen in 2021, India’s edtech companies will hope to continue to hold user interest over the years. According to a report by PGA Labs and IVCA, India’s education sector is poised to grow from the current $117 billion to $225 billion by FY25. And clearly, India’s edtech companies are all pouncing on the opportunity to gain the biggest market share.

SEE ALSO:
Top stocks to watch — Tata Steel, Vedanta, Adani Green, Tata Motors, Maruti, M&M, DHFL, V-Mart, Indian Bank, and others