As India's startups faced a fund cruch last year, unicorn Byju's faltered by posing a loss for FY21 which was 10 times its total loss in seven years. As it joined the layoff bandwagon to cut costs, Whitehat Jr emerged as the firm's weakest links with a Rs 1,690 crore loss. Amidst a crisis, the online coding training platform acquired by Byju's for $300 million, may soon be shut down.
As the edtech sector witnessed a surge in demand during the pandemic, Whitehat Jr came under fire for false advertising and trying to stifle criticism. That was shortly after Byju's had acquired it, and things only went downhill for the coding tutor since then. The startup, which has reportedly been spending $14 million a month to keep Whitehat Jr up and running, is now considering the possibility of closing it down.
The firm which has already laid off 1,500 people, seeks to turn profitable by cutting costs, and offloading Whitehat may be a part of that plan. The platform which offered coding training for children, doesn't earn any profit on its own. The founder of Whitehat Jr, Karan Bajaj has already left the startup, and is reportedly raising funds for a new venture.
Byju's has also ended visits by sales representatives to pitch services to parents, and is instead conducting tests to see if people can afford its subscription for their children.
