After lay-offs, edtech startup Lido Learning files for insolvency

According to the company’s regulatory filings with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, edtech startup Lido Learning filed for insolvency with the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal seven months after laying off 1,200 workers (MCA).

According to a Livemint article, the board of directors of Lido Learning has approved a special resolution to submit an application under section 10 of the 2016 Insolvency and Bankruptcy (IBC) legislation.

Leading businesspeople including Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Mukesh Bansal, Anupam Mittal, and Ananth Narayanan, as well as renowned institutional investors like Alibaba-backed BACE Ventures, Picus Capital, and 9 Unicorns, had contributed roughly $27.3 million to Lido Learning.

According to Section 10 of the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, 2016, it is “resolved that the shareholders’ consent be and is hereby accorded to file an application/petition i.e., initiation of Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process by the corporate applicant, be filed before the National Company Law Tribunal, Mumbai Bench in order to resolve its debts.”

The small group, online tuitions company had seen rapid growth and was currently on track to reach a $100 million run rate (revenue) by the end of the financial year. In September 2021, the company raised $10 million, led by Ronnie Screwvala’s Unilazer Ventures. For children in kindergarten through grade 12, Lido Learning provided math, science, and English tutoring that was in line with the CBSE and ICSE.

The business intended to aggressively expand both domestically and internationally. The launch of Lido Learning’s free user app, which would have given students lifetime access to free curriculum-aligned video content, was planned for the IPL season. This would have coincided with the company’s first-ever TV advertising campaign.

With its flagship coding curriculum using the “Pair Learning” methodology with just two students to an instructor in order to promote quicker learning, deeper interactions, and on-the-spot problem-solving, Lido Learning had also announced its arrival into the US and Canada.

In addition to its current activities in the Middle East, the United States, and Canada, plans were also in place to begin in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and South East Asia in early 2022.

As of August 2022, edtech businesses including Unacademy (1,150 employees), BYJU’S (550 at Toppr and Whitehat Jr), and Vedantu have let go of more than 6,000 workers (724).

The layoffs occur while the edtech industry is struggling due to the global macroeconomic environment and the reopening of schools, colleges, and traditional learning facilities.