Doubts Doctrine: Users flock but questions linger over Doubtnut, Brainly

Unlike full-stack edtech players like Byju’s, platforms like Doubtnut and Brainly are hoping to turn doubt solving into a standalone business. With millions of users and millions in funding, can they succeed where platforms like Hashlearn and Toppr stumbled

Solving doubts is at the core of any learning process. Doubtnut, Brainly have spun that need into a business opportunity

This is third wave edtech. Concepts come later. Solving doubts, through simple videos and P2P forums, forms the crux

In three years, Doubtnut has over 7 million monthly users, while Brainly has 15 million. Both have attracted large VCs

But the doubts business is disloyal. Monetising comes with the inherent risk of losing users

“If you have a math question, I’m 99% sure it exists in our database,” says Tanushree Nagori. We’re inside a giant boardroom, with off-white walls and rows of tables, which double up as writing surfaces. Nagori draws on the table between us, explaining where her fledgling online venture—Doubtnut—lies within India’s edtech landscape, which is projected to be worth $1.96 billion by 2021.

“I guess you’d put us in this quadrant,” she says, pointing to a white space between “local language” and “concepts + doubts”.

Nagori's visual explanation of India's edtech landscape (Picture credit: Olina Banerji/The Ken)

Nagori founded Doubtnut with husband Aditya Shankar in late 2016.

AUTHOR

Olina Banerji

Based in Delhi, Olina writes about mega-trends in urban mobility, education, skilling and the environment, with a focus on how institutions and innovations can help cities grow sustainably. She is a graduate of the London School of Economics, and has worked previously with India Today and global non-profit Ashoka.

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