Byju’s Play Store exit marks a deeper unraveling of India’s edtech giant

Once hailed as the vanguard of India's edtech surge, Byju's has swiftly become a cautionary tale of rapid decline. Its main learning app just vanished from the Google Play Store; not due to a pivot or rebrand, but because of unpaid cloud bills.

The disruption stems from delayed payments to Amazon Web Services, which powers the company’s backend. As a result, Byju’s app content, video delivery, and even basic site features have collapsed. Users can’t access paid lessons, the website is stripped down but still functioning, and free sessions now show server errors. Technically, some of Byju’s other apps—like Exam Prep and Think & Learn Premium—are still listed on the Play Store, but users say they’re not working either.

This isn’t a one-off glitch but a symptom of collapse. Byju’s is facing insolvency proceedings, an $18.5 million legal battle with India’s cricket board over unpaid sponsorship dues, and lawsuits from U.S. lenders over a $1.2 billion loan. The company is also now under the control of a court-appointed resolution professional, Shailendra Ajmera. And it hasn’t commented publicly on the Play Store removal.

Byju’s is facing its biggest crisis ever as it aims to avert a potential shutdown

It remains to be seen if it can overcome insolvency and avert a potential shutdown.

TechloyLoy Okezie

At its peak in 2022, Byju’s was valued at $22 billion. Today, it’s reportedly worth just $0. Over 3,500 employees have been laid off, and what was once a high-growth rocket ship is now just trying to avoid liquidation.

And it’s not alone. Indian edtech isn’t crashing, but it's cracking. Lido Learning, Udayy, and FrontRow have shut down. Vedantu and Unacademy are scaling back. The COVID-era boom that sent billions into digital learning seems to have given way to a brutal reset.

Meanwhile, companies like Google are offering AI-powered tools, often for free, that replicate what many edtech startups once charged for. Khan Academy, for example, is building AI tutors without chasing venture returns.

Byju’s CEO is pitching a “Byju’s 3.0” reboot that shifts the company’s focus away from aggressive expansion and toward serving underserved students with more affordable, AI-powered learning tools.

But with the flagship app gone, cloud services failing, and trust from users, investors, and employees collapsing, it’s unclear who this reboot is for. A comeback sounds noble, but Byju's will have to work very hard to regain confidence.

India’s Byju’s valuation dropped by 75%

Once a shining star in the Indian startup scene, Byju’s, a leading edtech company, is grappling with a series of blows in the form of valuation cuts that have sent shockwaves through the industry. The latest blow came from Dutch-listed investor Prosus NV, a subsidiary of South African media conglomerate,

TechloyEmmanuel Oyedeji