Is BYJU'S Creating a Monopoly in the Edtech Sector?

The pandemic has contributed to the growth of the technology sector and made it a necessity. The entire world has shifted from offline to online mode.

All the office work, teaching, and learning went online. This gave rise to more and more platforms that support these services.

With schools, colleges, and coaching being shut down, the ed-tech sector became the need of the hour. One name in this sector that gained huge popularity is BYJU'S.

BYJU'S is one of the most popular platforms in the ed-tech sector. With its great teachers, learning material, and latest technologies, it has earned quite a big space in student’s life.

What is BYJU'S?
BYJU’s and the Effect on Ed-tech During Pandemic
Is BYJU’s Creating a Monopoly in the Ed-tech Sector?
What Makes BYJU’S So Popular Than the Others in Ed-Tech Sector?
FAQ

What is BYJU'S?

BYJU'S is a technology-based educational platform. It has various programs for students to learn between the 1^st to 12^thstandards. It also offers various courses for exam preparations. These include CAT, MAT, NEET, JEE.

The company aims to develop self-learning among children. It helps the students to clear their doubts many times without any hesitation. It provides learning through the best-qualified teachers.

Foundation

BYJU'S was founded in the year 2011. Byju Raveendran and his wife, Divya Gokulnath collectively found the company. As the name suggests, the company is named after the founder’s name.

The company has its headquarters located in Bengaluru.

Where Did the Idea Come for the Startup?

The idea came in Byju’s head while helping his friend crack the CAT exam during his vacations. He also gave the exam and cleared it with 100 percent.

After that, he began to conduct workshops on mathematics. Later, to expand his reach, he began to record his workshops. This was the time when startup seed was sown in his head.

BYJU’s and the Effect on Ed-tech Sector During Pandemic

The concept of tuition has always been there. The students who didn’t understand the course at school or couldn’t score well would opt for the tuition. Sometimes the students would go to their friends or someone elder living nearby to learn. The other times, especially the older students would join coaching centres.

BYJU’S helps the students to learn out of the four walls of the school. It clears various doubts of the students like tuition but in an online format. The concept of the company was amazing. But it didn’t get much popularity as most people didn’t want increased screen time for their children.

However, The pandemic changed the entire scenario. The whole learning process shifted to the online mode. Even the regular school’s classes got reduced to mere a screen. With lockdowns everywhere, the local tuitions and coaching centres got closed.

This was the time when people had to understand the need for online learning. During the pandemic, BYJU’S made its content for 1^st-12^thstandard free for all for a while. This helped the platform gain huge popularity and audience towards itself. Thus, the pandemic proved to be a boon for BYJU’S.

The company was also able to raise significant funding during this time and became a deacorn (A company valued at $10 billion) with a valuation of $10.5 billion.

Is BYJU’S Creating a Monopoly in the Ed-tech Sector?

BYJU’S does have various competitors in the market. However, certain reasons are showing that it may be trying to create a monopoly. These are:

Empire Building

BYJU’s trying to establish itself not only in India but outside as well. BYJU’S didn’t see a sudden growth in the initial days. It took the company almost four years to gain a student’s audience of 40 million. During the pandemic, however, this number rose to 65 million.

The company aims to develop a learning app for global students as well. With its acquisition of WhiteHat Jr., it aims to serve the students in New Zealand, Australia, etc. By building an empire, BYJU’S seems to create a monopoly.

Byju's Acquisitions Spree

BYJU’S has indulged in 18 acquisitions and an investment, spending more than $2.88 billion. Out of these 10 acquisitions were made in 2021. These included- Scholar, HashLearn, Gradeup, Great Learning, Aakash Educational Services, GeoGebra, Tynker, Whodat, Toppr, Epic.

Aakash Educational Services has a strong level of trust among the students and parents. It has been a tried and trusted source for Indian customers. BYJU’s acquisition of it gained a huge customer base and trust towards the company.

BYJU’s various acquisitions seem to be a reason that shows it is trying to create a monopoly in the ed-tech sector.

Valuable Unicorn

BYJU’S over the years has now earned a huge valuation for itself. In June 2021, BYJU’S became the most valuable unicorn in India. It even surpassed the digital payment platform, Paytm. BYJU earned this without going public.

The company hasn’t indicated any definite plans to go public. But when it goes, it is sure to create a huge impact in the entire ed-tech market with great success.

What Makes BYJU’S So Popular Than the Others in Ed-Tech Sector?

BYJU’S holds an important position in the ed-tech market but this position doesn’t come without competitors. It has various competitors like Unacademy, Vedantu, Toppr, and more.

There are certain points that make BYJU’S a highlight in the ed-tech industry. These are:

• It has courses for children in kindergarten. Also, it has courses for students preparing for competitive exams.
• The teaching methods used by BYJU’S are super effective. They impart knowledge through videos that have a super catchy pattern.
• The lessons offered by BYJU’S are easier to understand. They are more interactive in nature than other platforms.
• BYJU’S also has a pool of knowledge and study material for the people preparing for government jobs.
• Unlike various platforms, BYJU’S offers lessons in many languages. For example- Hindi, Telegu, etc. This enables the company to attract a wide range of audiences to the platform.
• BYJU’S also conducts live classes for various courses. For example- competitive exam prep, coding, and tutoring. This develops a better sense of interest among the students.

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Conclusion

BYJU’S is one of the leading platforms in the ed-tech sector. The pandemic brought various competitors to the company. BYJU’S yet, with its expansion, acquisitions, and strategies, continues to stand out from the rest.

BYJU’s acquisition of Aakash Educational Services, Gradeup, and WhiteHat Jr. are the biggest contributions towards its growth. These helped BYJU’S gain trust and a huge customer base. With all these, BYJU’S does seem to create a monopoly in the ed-tech sector.  However, only time will tell if it enjoys the status of monopoly in the future.

FAQ

Is BYJU's creating a monopoly?

BYJU’S has indulged in 18 acquisitions with these many acquisitions it looks like Byjus is trying to create a monopoly in the edtech sector.

Did BYJU's acquire Aakash?

Yes, Byju's acquired Aakash in January 2021 for $1 billion.