In a move that has surprised many across India’s creator and edtech space, Ankur Warikoo announced on May 15 that he is shutting down his online courses business. The platform had become a major success story in India’s digital education world, and the numbers are huge.
He shared the news in a video on X, saying the decision comes after five years of work and massive growth. In the video, he said: “I am shutting down my courses business. After 5 years, 5 lakh students, and ₹100 crore in revenue, all profitable. Completely shutting it down.”
‘Makes no sense to continue it’ – Ankur Warikoo on shutting down ₹100 business
Along with the video, Warikoo also wrote a detailed post explaining the scale of the business and the decision to shut it down. He wrote: “We’ve grown beyond what I could have imagined since we started in 2020. 5 lakh students. 100 crores in sales. 25 crores in profits. But it makes no sense to continue it. I’ll be sharing more about my decision and what happens next tomorrow, May 16, 8:30 PM,” he wrote.
I am shutting down my 100 crores courses business.
— Ankur Warikoo (@warikoo) May 15, 2026
We’ve grown beyond what I could have imagined, since we started in 2020.
5 lakh students.
100 crores in sales.
25 crores in profits.
But it makes no sense to continue it.
I’ll be sharing more about my decision and what… pic.twitter.com/hBfyX0Dqm7
Warikoo has not shared the full reason yet, but his past decisions give some hints about his thinking. He has often spoken about how success and money alone do not always bring satisfaction. In earlier posts and talks, he has admitted that even high earnings once left him feeling “empty”.
At one point in his career, he was earning ₹33 lakh a year in consulting, but still chose to walk away and build something of his own. So, while the exact reason for shutting the courses business is still not fully explained, a few possible directions are being discussed.
One major possibility is a strategic shift. Another factor could be the changing online education market. After the COVID boom, the space has become crowded, with rising competition, shifting algorithms, and changing learner behaviour. The traditional “course model” is no longer as simple or dominant as it once was.
Once the post went viral, many users started guessing why such a profitable business would be shut down. Some even started linking the decision to the rise of artificial intelligence tools, which are changing how people learn online and access educational content. “AI Impact?” a user commented. Warikoo replied: “huge.”
Who is Ankur Warikoo?
Ankur Warikoo is not new to building and leaving behind big ventures.
He studied physics and even dropped out of a PhD program in the US before stepping into the startup world. Over the years, he has worn many hats, entrepreneur, investor, author, and content creator.
He was the founding CEO of Groupon India and later played a key role in a management buyout that led to nearbuy.com, which was backed by Sequoia. Even after building it into a strong business, he eventually moved on.
After 2019, Warikoo shifted his focus to content creation and education. Through his platform WebVeda, he started teaching topics like personal finance, career growth, entrepreneurship, and life skills in a simple, relatable way.
Over time, his reach grew massively across YouTube, LinkedIn, and Instagram, turning him into one of the most followed voices in India’s digital learning space.