Amazon can be shutting down Amazon Academy, a web based studying platform it launched in India for highschool college students final yr, the corporate mentioned Thursday.
The retailer says it would wind down the edtech service within the nation in a phased method beginning August 2023. Those that signed up for the present educational batch will obtain a full refund, it mentioned.
Amazon formally launched Academy, beforehand referred to as JEE Prepared, early last year, however had been testing the platform since mid-2019. Academy sought to assist college students put together for entry into the nation’s prestigious engineering faculties.
The service supplied curated studying materials, reside lectures, mock exams and complete assessments to assist college students study and observe math, physics and chemistry and put together for the Joint Entrance Examinations (JEE), a government-backed engineering entrance evaluation carried out in India for admission to numerous engineering faculties within the nation.
The excellent providing from the agency had prompted some to consider that Amazon may be making a serious foray into the training market and will pose a risk to upstarts comparable to Byju’s, Unacademy and Vedantu.
The homepage of Amazon Academy web site. Picture Credit: Amazon
Greater than 260 million youngsters go to highschool in India and far of the inhabitants sees training as a key to financial progress and a greater life. Fb additionally invested in Unacademy, a Bangalore-based startup that provides on-line studying courses. Google, which invested in Indian edtech startup Cuemath, also partnered with CBSE to coach greater than 1 million lecturers in India and provide a spread of free instruments comparable to G Suite for Schooling, Google Classroom and YouTube to assist digitize the training expertise within the nation.
“At Amazon, we predict huge, experiment and put money into new concepts to please clients. We additionally regularly consider the progress and potential of our services to ship buyer worth, and we frequently make changes primarily based on these assessments,” an Amazon spokesperson advised .
“Following an evaluation we’ve got made the choice to discontinue Amazon Academy. We’re winding down this program in a phased method to handle present clients.”
The corporate didn’t share why it’s winding down Academy, however ET Prime (paywalled), which first reported the development, mentioned the transfer was a part of the its ongoing cost-cutting measures.
Amazon is planning to cut about 10,000 jobs, in accordance with media stories, and commenced eliminating roles in some divisions together with devices and services earlier this month. Amazon additionally shut down groups that make AWS tutorials and different on-line programs, Enterprise Insider reported.
In a memo, which Amazon has since made public, chief govt Andy Jassy mentioned extra layoffs will come subsequent yr.
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