Amid the slowdown in edtech, Amazon is shutting down its online learning vertical, Amazon Academy, in India. Launched in early 2021 during the pandemic-led edtech boom, the platform operates in the ‘test prep’ segment and offers virtual coaching for entrance exams including IIT-JEE and NEET.
“Amazon will phase out Academy operations from August 2023, when our current batch completes their test preparation modules. We are committed to our customers and want to assure them that this decision will have no impact on our services, the company said in a statement.
Amazon Academy subscribers will have online access to full course content for an extended period of one year (till October 2024). Amazon will also refund the full fees to those enrolled in the current academic batch.
Amazon Academy, which has over 5 million downloads on Google Play, offered students access to mock tests, question banks, practice questions, solved test papers from previous years as well as daily tips and tricks. Students also had the option to filter questions by difficulty level (easy, moderate and difficult) and compare their JEE rank with fellow candidates.
Commenting on the impending closure of the vertical, an Amazon spokesperson said, “At Amazon, we think big, experiment, and invest in new ideas to delight customers. We strive to deliver customer value.” We also continually evaluate the progress and potential of our products and services, and we regularly make adjustments based on those assessments. After that assessment, we have decided to discontinue Amazon Academy.
The closure comes at a time when edtech has been hit by a funding winter, resulting in massive layoffs across the industry. According to Tracxn, India’s top 11 edtech start-ups including BYJU’S, Unacademy, Vedantu have laid off over 7,000 employees till the beginning of November.
Unacademy, which competes with Amazon Academy in the test prep segment, has also focused on offline centres, as the impact of the pandemic begins to subside given the demand for online learning has decreased.
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