Adda247 Lays Off 20% Workforce Ahead Of IPO

Google-backed edtech major Adda247 has laid off 20% of its workforce, or around 200 employees, in an internal restructuring ahead of its planned IPO next year.

A Business Standard report, citing sources, said employees from multiple verticals were impacted by the layoffs, including those working in product, design, content, CUET (common university entrance test), and teaching staff in categories such as UPSC and judiciary preparation.

“The restructuring was across functions and not limited to any single team or vertical. We remain committed to supporting all impacted employees in line with their contracts and applicable policies,” Adda247 told Inc42 in an emailed statement. It added that the overall team size has remained “broadly stable” over the past year as it continues to hire selectively across key roles.

The workforce pruning took place at the end of April, with junior employees told that the selection was performance-linked while those in senior roles told that the company was undergoing restructuring and cost-cutting, which includes shutting down some exam categories, the report said.

Citing employees, the publication said that Adda247 earlier shut its Hindi-language CUET vertical, leading to layoffs across the team. Moreover, they said that nearly 50-100 faculty members were also laid off in October-November last year, with many either shifted to contractual or freelance roles, or let go entirely.

The startup’s employees added that some segments have been witnessing slower growth, and raised concerns about Adda247’s cash runway and declining traction in StudyIQ’s online business vertical. The startup acquired StudyIQ Education in December 2021 for approximately $20 Mn to strengthen its civil services exam preparation offerings.

The restructuring is expected to save the startup ₹5 Cr annually, the report said.

“As we scale and our user base grows, we regularly evaluate how our teams, structures, and goals are aligned to serve our customers better. As part of this process, we made some structural adjustments across the organisation to sharpen our focus, improve execution, and ensure we build around our learners’ needs,” the startup said in its statement.

Adda247 added that it is seeing strong momentum in the core business and remains “focused on building a sustainable and impactful organisation in the education space.”

Founded in 2016 by Anil Nagar and Saurabh Bansal, Adda247 is a test prep platform for over 500 examinations, including CUET, IIT JEE, NEET, UPSC, and various government job exams. Its offerings include live online classes, on-demand video courses, mock tests, ebooks, books, among others.

It has raised a total funding of about $67 Mn to date from investors like Google, WestBridge, InfoEdge, among others.

The restructuring comes as the startup is gearing up for an IPO in the next 12-18 months. However, it has been facing  plateauing growth over the last few years, in line with the larger slowdown in the sector. In FY25, its net loss declined 2.5% YoY to ₹103.6 Cr, with revenue and expenses remaining almost flat.

While it is yet to file its FY26 financial statements, cofounder and CEO Nagar told Business Standard earlier this month that its operating revenue was on an upward trajectory and loss narrowed during the fiscal, with test prep contributing nearly 75% of its overall revenue.

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