Zenius was one of Indonesia’s earliest edtech startups. Founded in 2004, it offered online learning long before it was mainstream. Students loved its accessible content and affordable pricing. During the pandemic, Zenius surged as schools went online. But competition intensified, with rivals like Ruangguru dominating. Funding challenges mounted, and Zenius struggled to scale. In 2024, Zenius shut down, shocking the edtech community. Its closure revealed the brutal realities of startup competition. Despite pioneering online learning, Zenius couldn’t sustain growth. Its story is bittersweet: a visionary startup undone by market forces. Zenius remains a symbol of innovation and fragility in edtech. It showed that being first isn’t enough — execution and funding matter. Today, Zenius is remembered fondly by students but studied as a cautionary tale.