Edtech unicorn Vedantu lays off 385 employees, implements pay cuts for leadership

Vedantu, the edtech unicorn, has laid off 385 employees, bringing the total number of layoffs this year to almost 1,000. Senior executives will also face pay cuts. Vedantu laid off 624 staff in May of this year, followed by another 100 three months later.

The Company is trying to rationalise while focusing on rapid growth. As part of this cost-cutting and rationalisation effort, the Company’s leadership, including the founders, will take a 50% pay cut. Vedantu recently paid $40 million for Deeksha. The latter is a platform established in Karnataka that assists students in preparing for board and competitive exams. This was a first step toward going hybrid.

In Muzaffarpur, the company had lately constructed a ‘hybrid’ coaching centre. Given the global economic uncertainty, Vedantu has merely done what other companies are doing today. Fear of a recession and inflationary conditions are affecting businesses worldwide, causing them to cut costs. As the need for online coaching has decreased following the pandemic and schools have reopened, most edtech platforms have established physical coaching centres across the country.

Vedantu became a unicorn in September 2021, after raising $100 million in a Series E funding round led by ABC World Asia. Tiger Global, Coatue Management, GGV Capital, and WestBridge were among the other investors. Vedantu was founded in 2011 by Vamsi Krishna, Pulkit Jain, and Anand Prakash, alumni of IIT-Delhi.