What does the future hold for Indian EdTech segment after Unacademy’s acquisition by upGrad?

Ever since the acquisition of Unacademy, one of India’s earliest and most valuable edtech startups, by upGrad for $ 200 million, there has been constant buzz in the challenging Edtech segment that has been witnessing several ups and downs ever since Byju’s failure and the post-COVID scenario. Online education, which started during COVID, has definitely opened a new dimension of teaching-learning-assessment but has been witnessing a decline in the recent years.  The acquisition may possibly result in future stability of the sector.

Experts point out that the Indian EdTech is entering a more mature and outcome-driven phase. The next wave of growth will not be defined simply by the number of learners acquired, but by the value and outcomes that platforms can deliver.

“We are likely to see greater consolidation across the sector, alongside the emergence of specialised players that have a strong understanding of specific learner needs. Areas such as professional upskilling, finance, employability and industry-aligned education are particularly well positioned as learners increasingly seek tangible career outcomes from their education. At the same time, AI will make learning more personalised, accessible and scalable. The opportunity for EdTech in India remains significant, but sustainable growth will ultimately come from combining technology with strong content, industry relevance and measurable outcomes,” remarked Pratham Barot, CEO and co-founder, Zell Education.

Experts from Anand Rathi Investment Banking are of the view that there would be healthy conversations across several sub-segments where the underlying demand story remains intact, and the business models have proven unit economics. “Four pockets stand out. First, hybrid test-preparation chains. The PhysicsWallah IPO, which listed at a 33 per cent premium in November 2025, has effectively validated the offline-plus-online model, and we expect strategic and PE interest in regional coaching brands (medical, engineering, UPSC, and state-level entrance) to accelerate. Second, K-12 school chains and preschool networks are a segment that never participated in the venture-funded boom and consequently has not participated in the bust either; steady cash flows, real estate-backed assets, and consolidation opportunities continue to attract long-duration capital. Third, higher education and university partnership platforms — enduring demand from a growing middle-class, high-ticket sizes, increasing demand for foreign universities in India and relative insulation from AI substitution make this an active deal category. Fourth, B2B enterprise skilling and professional certification. Sitting on corporate training budgets rather than discretionary household spend, this segment is arguably the most AI-resilient part of the market and is drawing renewed institutional interest, both domestic and cross-border,” explained Atul Thakkar, director, Anand Rathi Investment Banking.

He further points out that over the next 12 to 18 months, deal flow is expected in Indian education to be steady but selective. On one side, there is a further round of distressed, all-stock consolidations among legacy consumer edtech platforms. On the other, and more importantly, there is a healthy pipeline of primary capital raises and strategic transactions in the profitable, execution-led sub-segments outlined above, alongside genuinely new opportunities in GenAI-native learning products. “India's education opportunity, anchored by demographics and rising household spend on learning, remains one of the most durable structural themes in the country. The next chapter will simply be written by a smaller, more disciplined set of operators, and by investors who have learned to underwrite unit economics rather than user growth,” added Thakkar.

Experts also point out that the sector is still facing challenges of a quality deficit among those subjected to the online mode of education post the Covid period. “Teaching, which was supposed to be a process involving significant rigour on the part of a teacher to make students learn, became just content whose qualitative assessment is based on the number of ‘views’ and ‘likes’ without concern for what has been the outcome or gain by the learners. With the democratisation of online content generation and the flooding of learning content on various free-to-access platforms, the whole online learning model may lose its sheen to some extent as part of basic education in future,” remarked Prof Onkar Singh, former governing board member, IIT Kanpur and IIT BHU (Varanasi).

He further added that in the Indian socio-economic conditions, the traditional mode of education still has better credibility. Nevertheless, the online courses may remain relevant for earning micro-credentials whose worthiness needs to be ascertained. “The online programmes may continue to be relevant for those who have migrated out of the education system and wish to improve their competency while working,” remarked Singh.