Analyzing Zenius’s comeback strategy after layoffs

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In 2019, I visited Nalanda – the ruins of an ancient university in eastern India where Gautam Buddha was recorded to have given lectures. A center of higher learning from 427 to 1197, it reportedly had about 2,000 teachers and around 10,000 students from different countries.

I couldn’t fathom how even hundreds of years ago, people were studying in the same manner as we do now. Even the teaching methods that were deployed then – classes, examinations, and grading – are still in use today.

It struck me that while the human species has evolved so much over the centuries, the way we pass on knowledge has largely remained almost unchanged until recently.

When the Covid-19 hit, the world shifted online, and the education system was no exception. Many edtech firms such as Unacademy and Byju’s in India as well as Zenius and Ruangguru in Indonesia experienced exponential growth.

These companies saw so much success during the pandemic that some of them planned their entire roadmap, assuming that students would continue to stay on online.

However, schools are much more than just a place where learning takes place. The bond between teachers and students cannot be replicated online or through any other medium. Perhaps that’s why the education system has pretty much stayed the same.

In this week’s main story, my colleague Shadine explores why Zenius, the Indonesian edtech giant, is betting on offline learning – a plan that was halted by the pandemic – after laying off 30 employees earlier this year. This was its third round of job cuts since 2022 for the company, which says it had to downsize to maintain efficiency.

Now with a new CEO at the helm, Zenius hopes to revive its pre-pandemic strategy as offline learning gains traction again. One highlight from this story is how the company aims to make Primagama, which it acquired in early 2022, a central part of its future strategy.

Also, in this week’s AI Odyssey, I discuss Baidu’s claim the latest version of its Ernie Bot, which is powered by Wenxin Big Model 3.5, has surpassed ChatGPT.

— Lokesh

THE BIG STORY

After layoffs, Zenius bets on offline learning in revival strategy

After a new CEO and its third round of layoffs, Zenius looks to revive its offline learning and upskilling segments, which the pandemic put on pause.

AI ODYSSEY

FYI

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