How India’s Top 5 EdTech Startups Achieved Billions
The EdTech boom in India isn’t slowing down. From $4.3 billion in 2022 to a projected $10.4 billion by 2025, the growth is staggering and the competition fierce.
But behind the headlines are real success stories from EdTech startups in India that cracked the code on scale, student engagement, and profitability.
If you’ve ever wondered what separates the breakout EdTech startups in India from the ones that fade, these success stories hold the answers. In this deep dive, we unpack the strategies of the top 5 EdTech companies in India.
You’ll see how they nailed acquisitions, product innovation, and market positioning, and how you can apply this EdTech knowledge to scale your own venture.
Top 5 EdTech success stories & revenue growth strategies
India’s EdTech startups are rewriting the playbook for digital education, blending innovation with revenue models that scale at speed. These billion-rupee success stories have transformed how India learns and built brands that dominate their niches.
Here’s how the top 5 EdTech companies in India turned bold ideas into sustainable revenue growth and the strategies you can adapt for your own venture:
1. Eruditus
Eruditus, founded in 2010 by Ashwin Damera and Chaitanya Kalipatnapu, is a global EdTech company headquartered in Mumbai and Singapore. It partners with top-tier universities like MIT, Harvard, INSEAD, and IITs to deliver executive education and degree programs online.
With learners spanning more than 80 countries, it has built a strong reputation for bringing prestigious higher education online at scale.
Today, it reaches over 1 million learners[1] across these countries through more than 700 programs - an impressive scale for a premium global EdTech brand.
Strategies and Success
Eruditus leveraged a few key strategies to partner with so many notable institutions, such as:
- Focus on professionals: Concentrated on executive and higher education instead of the crowded K–12 market, targeting working professionals and lifelong learners.
- Flexible learning formats: Offered programs in multiple languages and learning styles (self-paced, live, blended), making them accessible to diverse audiences across geographies.
- Smarter cost discipline: By tightening its belt on marketing and overheads, Eruditus reduced spending as a share of revenue and sharply narrowed its losses.
- Investor backing: Secured $150 million[2] in fresh funding in late 2024, led by TPG Rise Fund, at a valuation of around $3.1–3.2 billion, reaffirming global investor confidence.
These moves had a clear payoff. Eruditus grew its revenue from ₹3,323 crore in FY23 to ₹3,733 crore in FY24, while at the same time shrinking its adjusted EBITDA loss from ₹415 crore to just ₹69 crore.
With marketing and overheads trimmed by about 10 percentage points of revenue, the company showed it could scale globally while moving steadily toward profitability.
2. Unacademy
Unacademy, an Indian EdTech startup, was founded in 2015. It provides exam preparation courses for competitive exams like NEET and UPSC.
The platform has 1000 registered educators and over 50 million active learners. Unacademy has a free YouTube channel and a paid subscription model for its platform.
Its YouTube channel is a mega-hit, with 1.41M subscribers and 750,000 paid subscribers. Further, it has three separate applications for students, educators, and parents.
Strategies and Success
Strategies that boosted Unacademy's success are:
- Marketed Educators: Unacademy made a place where skilled teachers can share good content and earn money.
- Courses in Vernacular Languages: To make education more accessible, courses were offered in everyday languages to break down language barriers. They offer classes in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and many more.
- Gamified Learning: To make learning more fun, Unacademy added points, streaks, and leaderboards to its platform.
- Strategic Acquisitions and Launches: They acquired Kreatryx, PrepLadder, and Codechef to expand their learning options. They also released an app called Graphy. This app helps with their gamified content by offering interactive stories and books.
These strategies fueled Unacademy's expansion. Its annual revenue soared from ₹398 crore in 2021 to ₹719 crore during the financial year of 2022.
In May 2022, the EdTech startup opened training centres. This was because fewer people were interested in online education after COVID-19. By opening physical stores, they implemented their strategy and saw a 655% increase in profit. Using their revenue growth formula, their revenue rose from ₹53 crore in FY22 to ₹840 crore in FY24[3].
3. Vedantu
Vedantu is an Indian online tutoring platform founded in 2011 by Vamsi Krishna, Anand Prakash and Pulkit Jain. It offers personalised live classes across K-12 and test prep segments. Vamsi Krishna and his IITian friends launched it in 2006 under Lakshya.
Students interact with tutors and other students using an interactive online whiteboard. They can get their doubts cleared and participate in quizzes and activities. It has mentored over 40,000 students globally. It had a valuation of 185 crore in FY23.
To attract users, Vedantu offers free content on YouTube and other platforms. They also provide paid subscriptions for access to live and complete courses.
Strategies and Success
- Interactive Platform: Vedantu is an interactive platform that offers live online classes and peer learning. They use innovative technology like online whiteboards. This increased engagement over passive video content.
- Hybrid Model: The hybrid model attracted users with freemium marketing. Revenue growth came from upsells and subscriptions.
- Vertical Integration: Vedantu expanded beyond K12 by launching new services and acquiring other companies. In 2022, they acquired Deeksha College. Before that, they earned Pedagogy and Instasolve.
Before 2020, Vedantu was experiencing steady annual revenue growth between 2.3x and 3x yearly. In 2020, Vedantu's business momentum accelerated. Revenue grew 5 times compared to 2019. They increased their student base from 80,000 to 1.2 million in 2020. Currently, their operating revenue has grown by 21% to ₹185 crore[4], and net loss has dropped by 58% to ₹157 crore.
4. Physics Wallah
Alakh Pandey, a humble tuition teacher, founded Physics Wallah in 2016 with a mission and vision. Physics Wallah became the 101st unicorn in the EdTech industry in India.
It began as a YouTube channel providing free JEE and NEET exam preparation videos. Today, Physics Wallah offers courses across K-12, competitive exams, and UPSC. It has a popular mobile app with video lessons, mock tests, and more.
Physics Wallah makes money through paid video courses, coaching affiliates, and selling merchandise. Almost 90% of their content is free.
He has multiple sub-channels: JEE Wallah, Military Wallah, Competition Wallah, and NCERT Wallah. These sub-channels are part of his main channel, Physics Wallah.
Strategies and Success
Marketing tactics that made Physics Wallah the only unicorn not to incur any losses in FY22 are:
- Grassroot YouTube Content: High-quality free videos solved student problems, generating organic traction. In 4 years, 1.6 million YouTube subscribers and 600 million views were achieved.
- Focused on Vernacular Languages: The company focuses on local languages. They have increased the use of Hindi and other languages in smaller Indian cities and towns.
- Acquisitions: To get ready for exams, Physics Wallah bought four companies: iNeuron.ai, PrepOnline, Altis Vortex, and FreeCo. With these acquisitions, they hope to reach a student base of 250 million by 2025.
Physics Wallah, a bootstrapped company, received funding from Westbridge Capital and GSV Ventures. Recently, it joined the unicorn club after securing series A funding. Physics Wallah was the only profitable company in the EdTech industry in FY22. Its net profit was ₹97.8 crore, a 14X higher profit than FY21. As of FY 23-24, its operating revenue has further surged 160% to ₹1,940 crore[5].
5. UpGrad
UpGrad is an Indian EdTech focused on higher education, founded in 2015 by Ronnie Screwvala, Mayank Kumar and Ravijot Chugh.
UpGrad offers over 100 courses in digital marketing, data science, management, and other subjects. These courses are created in partnership with universities. Courses run for 3-12 months with live classes and mentorship support.
Strategies and Success
Some strategies leveraged by UpGrad to crack the EdTech market are:
- Industry Partnerships: UpGrad co-created courses with established universities to build credibility. This included IIT, IIITB and MICA Ahmedabad.
- Income Share Agreements: Learners pay a % of income after securing jobs rather than hefty upfront fees.
- Enterprise Training: UpGrad provides training and hiring programs for companies to improve their employees' skills.
- Targeting Working Professionals: upGrad targets both students studying abroad and in the country and working professionals.
UpGrad’s revenue growth jumped to 2X[3] from ₹327 crore in FY21 to ₹679 Crore in FY22. The current valuation of the EdTech giant has reached $2.25 billion after a fresh investment from Temasek[6].
Your next steps in the Indian Edtech growth wave
The journeys of these top 5 EdTech companies in India show how bold ideas, strong revenue models, and student-focused innovation can turn startups into enduring EdTech success stories.
With EdTech penetration in K-12 still at just 11%, there's massive room for growth, and the next wave of billion-rupee ventures is already in the making.
If you're building an EdTech startup in India, now is the time to refine your strategy, invest in scalable systems, and claim your place in this expanding market. GrowthJockey as a venture building partner can help you craft the roadmap to get there.
FAQs on Edtech success stories
1. Is upGrad a unicorn?
UpGrad graced the unicorn stage in 2021, right after the pandemic, when more and more students opted for online learning.
2. Why do people opt for online coaching?
People choose online coaching because it's convenient, personalised and cost-effective. It also has expert faculty, is flexible, and uses interactive technology.
3. What is the success rate of Physics Wallah?
The selection ratio of 4:1 shows the success rate of EdTech company Physics Wallah’s preparation programs.
4. Does Vedantu provide tablets in offline centres?
Yes, in Vedantu learning centres, all enrolled students get a personal tablet with a Wi-Fi connection to interact and study.
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