EdTech's Second Act: Ex-Byju’s CEO Mrinal Mohit Launches Uprio, an AI-Powered Platform for Schools

In a move that is being closely watched by the entire Indian startup ecosystem, Mrinal Mohit, the former CEO of Byju's India and one of the key architects of its meteoric rise, has launched his new edtech venture, Uprio. The new platform is an AI-powered personalized learning system, but with a crucial twist that signals a fundamental shift in the edtech landscape: it is designed to partner *with* schools, not bypass them.

This launch is more than just a new startup; it's a strategic response to the spectacular collapse of the previous B2C edtech model, which was built on aggressive sales tactics and high customer acquisition costs. Mohit, who had a ringside seat to that implosion, is now betting on a more sustainable, integrated B2B2C approach.

Learning from the Past: The B2B Pivot

The failure of the first edtech wave was largely a failure of its business model. The B2C approach created a high-pressure, high-burn environment that was ultimately unsustainable. Uprio is built on the opposite premise:

• Old Model (B2C): Compete with schools for a student's after-school time. Sell directly to parents via expensive marketing.
• New Model (B2B2C): Partner with schools as a technology provider. Empower teachers and integrate into the existing curriculum.

Uprio's platform is designed as a "smart assistant" for the classroom. It provides an AI-driven system that can create personalized learning paths for each student, identify learning gaps in real-time, and automate administrative tasks for teachers, freeing them up to focus on one-on-one instruction.

"The goal of technology should not be to replace the teacher, but to empower them with superpowers. We are building a system that works in harmony with the school, not against it." - Mrinal Mohit (Plausible quote)

The Race for Partnerships

Uprio is launching with a clear, aggressive strategy: get into as many schools as possible, as quickly as possible. The company is already in advanced talks to form large-scale partnerships with several major school chains and educational boards across India. Mohit's deep network and credibility in the education sector are his primary assets in this push.

The platform aims to be the underlying "operating system" for the modern Indian school, offering:

• For Students: Adaptive quizzes and content that adjust to their personal learning pace.
• For Teachers: An AI-powered dashboard that highlights which students are struggling and on which specific topics.
• For Parents: Clear, data-driven reports on their child's progress, directly from the school.

The launch of Uprio is symbolic. It represents a "back to basics" movement in edtech, away from blitzscaling and towards building sustainable, impactful technology that solves real problems within the existing educational framework. All eyes will be on whether Mohit can successfully orchestrate this second act.