The edtech sector is beginning to recover from the funding-led boom and bust of the Byju’s era, but the companies emerging stronger are following a markedly different playbook. Rather than chasing enrolments and revenue through heavy customer-acquisition spending, survivors are focusing on profitability, higher revenue per learner and multiple revenue streams.
The shift is visible across K12 and test preparation, upskilling, study abroad and professional learning. For WestBridge Capital-backed PhysicsWallah, revenue from operations rose 35% year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 3,900 crore in FY26. Its net loss declined 90% to Rs 24 crore from Rs 243 crore a year earlier. Revenue from its online business grew 39% to Rs 1,954 crore, while offline revenue increased 31% to Rs 1,774 crore.
PhysicsWallah expanded its offline presence by 155 centres to 353, with student enrolments crossing 0.47 million. Its net loss fell 30% YoY to Rs 88.3 crore in the first quarter of FY27, from Rs 127 crore a year earlier, according to regulatory filings.
LEAD Group, which provides curriculum and technology solutions to schools, reported 10% YoY growth in revenue to Rs 387 crore in FY26, while Ebitda rose around sevenfold to about Rs 30 crore. Its net loss narrowed by more than 20% to Rs 34.5 crore from Rs 43.3 crore. The company is increasing revenue per school by adding grades, curriculum and supplemental offerings, while moving its AI products from experimentation towards monetisation.
upGrad offers another indication of the sector’s improving financial profile. Its net loss fell 52% to Rs 130 crore in FY26, marking the third consecutive year in which losses more than halved. Ebitda jumped eightfold to Rs 123 crore as gross revenue crossed Rs 2,000 crore.
The change is particularly visible in how companies are combining digital learning with other channels rather than treating online education as a standalone business. K12 and test-prep companies are adding physical centres, while skilling platforms are building partnerships and degree pathways. This allows them to tap a larger target segment while increasing average revenue per learner.
In study abroad, the monetisation opportunity is also changing. Students are increasingly applying to two or three countries instead of one, increasing the number of applications, visa processes and test-preparation services that companies can provide to each learner. Leap, which has been growing at around 30% YoY, has benefited from the widening of destinations beyond traditional markets such as the US, UK, Canada and Australia.
Professional edtech companies are similarly moving from acquiring individual learners to building multiple businesses around the same customer. Imarticus Learning reported revenue of around Rs 205 crore in FY25, up 16% from Rs 177 crore a year earlier, while Ebitda doubled to about Rs 14 crore. It is expanding into enterprise learning, higher education, certifications and career progression, with around 10% of revenue coming directly from acquisitions.
“The big edtech companies were competing for the same students and spending a lot of money to acquire them. Today, they are more focused on building sustainable businesses,” Milan Sharma, founder and MD, 35North Ventures, told Fe. He said consolidation, including the proposed upGrad-Unacademy combination, also showed that companies were beginning to combine rather than compete for the same customers.
The change has also been driven by investors. VCs and private equity investors who once prioritised revenue growth and enrolments are now placing greater emphasis on profitability and unit economics. This has forced founders to move from growth at any cost to growth that can generate sustainable cash flows.
AI is helping this transition by automating functions and creating new learning products, but it is not the entire story. The bigger change is that digital learning has become a normal part of education rather than a pandemic-driven substitute for physical classrooms. At the same time, a new generation of students is more comfortable learning online.
The post-Byju’s edtech market could therefore be less spectacular than the previous boom, but potentially more sustainable. The next phase is likely to be shaped by businesses that can build deeper customer relationships and generate multiple revenue streams around educational outcomes, rather than simply chase scale.