Indian Edtech Start-Ups Stage a Comeback with 5x Funding Uptick in H1 2025

Following a slowdown and uncertainty period after the Byju's debacle, India's edtech industry made a great comeback during the first half of 2025. The activity of investments quintupled compared to the year before, with start-ups in the domain of study-abroad services, worker training, and AI-based language

After witnessing a slowdown and increasingly skeptical sentiment in the wake of the Byju's drama, India's edtech space bounced back with a vengeance in the first half of 2025. The investment in edtech start-ups increased more than fivefold compared to the same timeframe last year. It raised $120 million in 11 deals during the Janury-June period, based on Venture Intelligence data reported by The Economic Times.

The industry's fundraise was $22 million from seven transactions in the comparable period a year ago, the report added. Still, the present amount is less than the $230 million raised in the first half of 2023.

Most of the money went into start-ups providing study-abroad solutions, workforce upskilling platforms, and AI startups expanding into language learning, as well as regional education.

The segment is ready for additional growth with PhysicsWallah set to become public. This is a turnaround in momentum following the reset of the industry following Byju's collapse, which has since entered into insolvency proceedings.

Indian Edtech Start-Ups

PhysicsWallah has submitted revised draft papers with markets regulator Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India) to mop up ₹3,820 crore as an initial public offering (IPO) for expansion and growth plans.

The IPO includes a new issue of equity shares amounting to ₹3,100 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of up to ₹720 crore by promoters, as per the revised draft red herring prospectus (UDRHP) filed on Saturday.

Both the promoters, Alakh Pandey and Prateek Boob, will offload an aggregate of ₹360 crore each in shares through the OFS. Currently, both own 40.35% stake each in the company.

The edtech has test preparation programs for competitive exams with a focus on JEE, NEET, GATE and UPSC, and upskilling programs, provided through online mediums (YouTube, website, and apps), technology-enabled offline centres, and hybrid centres that merge online instruction with in-class guidance.

Moreover, Softbank-backed edtech startup, Eruditus, also recently closed a refinancing of as much as $150 million led by Liquidity and Japan's largest bank MUFG Bank's joint venture MARS Growth Capital. CollegeDekho also received ₹40 crore funding from debt marketplace Recur Club.

Former Unacademy COO Vivek Sinha's education-tech start-up Emversity has also raised $5 million in its pre-Series A round from existing investors Z447 and Lightspeed Venture Partners. And even Byju Raveendran also announced that the founder will unveil Byju's 3.0 following the closure of insolvency proceedings.

Some of the prominent start-ups in this segment include Byju’s, Unacademy, and others. This segment also saw a subsequent growth in its funding in 2021, followed by a drop.

By August 2024, this segment secured $151 million in funding, marking a 28% increase compared to the same period in 2023, according to data from Tracxn. The test preparation segment is another area that is gaining momentum