Amazon will likely be shutting down Amazon Academy, an internet studying platform it launched in India for high-school college students final 12 months, the corporate mentioned Thursday.

The retailer says it can wind down the edtech service within the nation in a phased method beginning August 2023. Those who signed up for the present educational batch will obtain a full refund, it mentioned.

Amazon formally launched Academy, beforehand referred to as JEE Ready, 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 schools.

The service supplied curated studying materials, reside lectures, mock checks and complete assessments to assist college students be taught and observe math, physics and chemistry and put together for the Joint Entrance Examinations (JEE), a government-backed engineering entrance evaluation performed in India for admission to numerous engineering schools within the nation.

The complete providing from the agency had prompted some to imagine that Amazon is perhaps making a significant foray into the training market and should pose risk to upstarts corresponding to Byju’s, Unacademy and Vedantu.

The homepage of Amazon Academy web site. (Image credit: Amazon)

More than 260 million kids go to high school in India and far of the inhabitants sees training as a key to financial progress and a greater life. Facebook additionally invested in Unacademy, a Bangalore-based startup that gives on-line studying lessons. Google, which invested in Indian edtech startup Cuemath, also partnered with CBSE to coach greater than 1 million lecturers in India and provide a variety of free instruments corresponding to G Suite for Education, Google Classroom and YouTube to assist digitize the training expertise within the nation.

“At Amazon, we think big, experiment, and invest in new ideas to delight customers. We also continually evaluate the progress and potential of our products and services to deliver customer value, and we regularly make adjustments based on those assessments,” an Amazon spokesperson instructed TechCrunch.

“Following an assessment we have made the decision to discontinue Amazon Academy. We are winding down this program in a phased manner to take care of current customers.”

The firm 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 line with media reviews, and started 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, Business Insider reported.

In a memo, which Amazon has since made public, chief govt Andy Jassy mentioned extra layoffs will come subsequent 12 months.