Bengaluru-based edtech startup BlueLearn ceases operations; founders to return 70% of capital to investors

BlueLearn, an Elevation Capital-backed upskilling and job-finding platform, has ceased operations and will refund 70% of the funds raised to its investors. According to the BlueLearn founder Harish Uthayakumar, co-founder Shreyans Sancheti and he founded this startup as a Telegram group in their third year of college, which eventually grew into India's largest student community with over 250,000 members.

Elevation Capital was created in 2021 by Uthayakumar and Shreyans Sancheti, both BITS Pilani alumni. The Bengaluru-based startup began as a Telegram forum in which students could ask experts questions. According to reports, the app served as a one-stop shop for students looking to learn new skills, network with peers, and apply for internships.

Time to "build in India, for India, and for the world." "Our mission was to create an online university that leveled the playing field and allowed students studying in tier-2 and tier-3 colleges to access opportunities to learn, network, earn, and get exposure similar to students at BITS or lIT," Uthayakumar wrote in a post on LinkedIn.

"However, we realized that building a venture-scale business with BlueLearn was tough. We had been very conservative with capital, allowing us to return 70% of the capital we raised back to investors," he added.

"I'd encourage more people to start up and build in India, for India, and for the world. We need more people to take risks and try out ideas that seem absurd. It's okay if you fail. I'm excited to share that a few of my teammates at BlueLearn have gone on to found their own startups," Uthayakumar said.

The edtech startup raised $4 million from angel investors, including Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal, the creators of Meesho, and Awais Ahmed, the founder of Pixxel, in addition to venture capital firms such as 100x VC, Titan Capital, Elevation Capital, and Lightspeed.

Uthayakumar claims that the community on its own app has grown to 250,000 members, originating from more than 20 nations, including Singapore, the United States, and the United Kingdom. "BlueLearn was an impactful chapter, but it is time to move on to our next one," Uthayakumar said.

With this, BlueLearn becomes the latest in a long line of firms to shut down operations, along with social media app Koo, neobank Muvin, fintech startup GoldPe, and healthtech firm Nintee, among others.