Edtech startup Camp K12 has reportedly laid off 70% of its workforce. According to a report by the Morning Context, the coding ed-tech firm has refused to pay dues to its staff.
Camp K12 was founded in 2010 by Anshul Bhagi, a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard Business School as a small-time coding boot camp. During the pandemic, he launched this ed-tech startup.
This month, ed-tech unicorn Byju's laid off nearly 1,500 employees in its second round of layoffs. Last year, the Byju Raveendran-led startup sacked around 2,500 employees.
Edtech startups in India have laid off thousands of employees in the past year and have been unable to raise funding as a slowdown gripped the market.
Companies that have cut staff include SoftBank-backed Unacademy, Tiger Global-backed Vedantu and Byju's - India's biggest startup valued at $22 billion.
Ed-tech startup Unacademy also laid off 20% of its employees from its subsidiary relevel in January this year.
According to the experts, certain profiles are isolated from layoffs such as people in legal and strategy roles, middle management staff, and those with strong digital skillsets. Cleint-facing teams are also protected.
Separately, ed-tech unicorn PhysicsWallah is looking to hire around 2,500 employees in the first quarter of 2023.
The firm is recruiting at an extensive scale through mega recruitment drives.
However, according to the venture capital firm GSV Ventures, ndia is still one of the world's most exciting markets for education technology investors.
US-based GSV invests only in edtech startups around the world and manages about $500 million in assets. In India, its two most prominent investments are in test preparation firm PhysicsWallah and LEAD, which provides digital infrastructure to schools.
"It is way too early to be negative. India is still the most exciting market for me along with the U.S. These are very early days for the Indian edtech market," Deborah Quazzo, managing partner at GSV said in an interview with Reuters.
Indian edtech startups raised $2.6 billion in 2022, down 36% compared to the previous year, according to data provider Tracxn Technologies.