The Indian startup ecosystem, recognised for its vibrant entrepreneurial spirit and innovation, has experienced both tremendous growth and notable setbacks in 2024. While some startups have thrived and reached unicorn status, others have struggled with a variety of challenges, including market pressures, scaling difficulties, and flawed business models, ultimately leading to their closures.
This year, several promising startups across industries such as fintech, edtech, and agritech have shut down, despite raising substantial capital and developing cutting-edge solutions. These closures underscore the unpredictable nature of the startup world and highlight the lessons that can be drawn from both success and failure.
Here’s an overview of 12 Indian startups that closed their operations in 2024, offering valuable insights into the difficulties faced by entrepreneurs in this dynamic environment.
12 Indian startups that shut down in 2024
1. Bluelearn: Edtech setbacks
Bluelearn, a social learning platform founded in 2021, ceased operations in July after three years of attempting to scale. Initially a Telegram channel offering academic and career-related support, the startup grew to 150,000 members across 20+ countries. Despite raising $3.95 million from investors, Bluelearn couldn’t overcome the challenges of scaling its business model, leading to its closure.
2. GoldPe: Cash flow and business model issues
GoldPe, a fintech startup launched in 2023, shut down within a year due to difficulties in scaling its business and cash flow issues. Based in Ahmedabad, GoldPe aimed to enable users to invest in digital gold and offered prize-linked savings plans. The startup garnered 2.25 lakh users but struggled to generate significant revenue, eventually folding after failing to secure further funding.
3. Greenikk: Financial struggles
Greenikk, a startup focused on improving banana cultivation, shut its doors in September 2024. Despite its innovative approach to providing financing, crop advisory, and insurance to farmers, the startup couldn’t overcome financial challenges, including defaults on loans. Greenikk raised INR 8.4 crore from investors but was unable to scale beyond its initial offerings.
4. InsurStaq.ai: Scaling struggles
InsurStaq.ai, an AI-driven startup focused on the insurance industry, shut down in September 2024 after facing challenges in scaling. Founded in 2022, the startup developed AI tools for insurance professionals but struggled to maintain operations and achieve sustainable growth. Despite initial backing, it was unable to survive in a highly competitive sector.
5. Investmint: Business Model Failure
Investmint, a Bengaluru-based fintech startup founded in 2022, closed its operations in 2024 after failing to find a viable business model. Despite raising $2 million in seed funding, the company was unable to build traction in the competitive investment advisory space and couldn’t maintain its user base, leading to its closure.
6. Kenko Health: Funding shortages
Kenko Health, a health-tech startup offering subscription-based health plans, ceased operations in August 2024. Despite raising over $13.7 million and achieving rapid revenue growth, Kenko faced difficulties in securing an insurance license from the IRDAI and could not overcome mounting losses, ultimately leading to its shutdown.
7. Koo: Unsuccessful acquisition talks
Koo, an Indian microblogging platform, shut down in 2024 after talks with potential acquirer Dailyhunt fell apart. Despite raising $50 million from investors, Koo was unable to establish a sustainable revenue model and struggled with financial losses, leading to its closure.
8. Muvin: Problems with RBI’s UPI regulation
Muvin, a neo-banking platform catering to students, ceased operations after the Reserve Bank of India’s new regulations on UPI co-branding partnerships affected its business model. Despite securing $4 million in funding, Muvin couldn’t navigate the regulatory changes and ultimately had to shut down.
9. My Tirth India: Investor’s sudden passing
My Tirth India, a startup offering travel services to religious destinations, temporarily paused operations after the sudden death of its key investor, Subrata Roy. Despite growing revenues, the startup faced financial constraints and struggled to secure new funding to continue its operations.
10. Nintee: User retention and scaling challenges
Nintee, an AI-based health platform, ceased operations in April 2024 after struggling with user retention and scaling. Despite raising $3 million, the startup couldn’t engage users or pivot successfully to sustain growth, resulting in its shutdown.
11. Stoa: Struggling to scale offline
Stoa, an edtech startup offering alternative MBA programs, shut down in November 2024 after four years of operation. The company struggled with its decision to avoid offline expansion, limiting its growth potential despite significant revenue and seed funding.
12. Toplyne: Product-market fit challenges
Toplyne, a SaaS startup helping product-led companies convert free users to paying customers, closed in October 2024. Despite raising $17.5 million, the company faced difficulties in achieving product-market fit and couldn’t sustain its growth, leading to its eventual shutdown.
These closures reflect the challenging realities of the startup world, where even promising ideas and substantial investment may not be enough to secure long-term success. Entrepreneurs continue to face numerous obstacles, from regulatory challenges to scaling difficulties, but each failure offers valuable lessons for future ventures.
