Social learning platform BlueLearn said on Sunday it was closing down after finding it couldn’t keep up with rapid growth. The three-year-old company plans to return 70% of the capital it had raised to investors.
The Bengaluru-based startup has raised close to $4 million in two funding rounds from Elevation Capital, Lightspeed, Titan Capital and 2am VC. Angel investors such as Vidit Aatrey, Sanjeev Barnwal, Awais Ahmed and Vivek Mohan also backed the community-driven platform.
“At BlueLearn, we recognized that building a venture-scale business is hard. We’ve been very conservative with our capital, which has allowed us to return 70% of the capital we raised to investors,” Harish Uthayakumar, co-founder and CEO of BlueLearn, told X.
Founded by Uttayakumar and Shreyas Sanchety, Bluelearn started as a Telegram channel where students helped each other with common queries. At its peak, the startup claims to have over 250,000 members from various universities and startups across India and abroad.
Since its inception, the company has helped thousands of students find internships, jobs, and make friends through its online community.
More than six startups operating in India have shut down in 2024. The list includes Resso (India), Rario, OKX (India), Muvin, GoldPe, Koo, and Nintee. However, several of them have also announced that they will return significant amounts of capital to investors. For reference, Nintee, a digital health startup led by Paras Chopra that shut down in April, said it would return most of the capital it had raised from investors.
Similarly, trading app Investmint is set to return 25% of its capital following bankruptcy proceedings, while media reports suggest fashion startups Fashinza and Virgo will also return capital to investors after failing to pivot.
More than 15 startups shut down in 2023 due to funding shortages and other challenges, according to data compiled by TheKredible.
