Vedantu was founded by Vamsi Krishna, Pulkit Jain, Saurabh Saxena, and Anand Prakash in 2014.
Explore the story of Vedantu founders Vamsi Krishna, Pulkit Jain, Saurabh Saxena, and Anand Prakash, from building Lakshya to creating a leading live-learning edtech startup.
Written by TFN Research Desk | covering startups, technology, venture capital, and business strategy
Quick Facts
| Founders | Vamsi Krishna, Pulkit Jain, Saurabh Saxena, Anand Prakash |
| Education | All four founders – IIT Roorkee (Vamsi Krishna also holds a BTech from IIT Bombay) |
| Prior Ventures | Co-Founders, Lakshya Institute (acquired by MT Educare, 2012) |
| Role | Co-Founder and CEO, Vedantu (Vamsi Krishna) |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Sector | EdTech |
Introduction
Long before Vedantu existed, Vamsi Krishna, Pulkit Jain, Saurabh Saxena, and Anand Prakash were already running a classroom together. In 2006, the four IIT Roorkee graduates founded Lakshya, an offline test-prep institute in a small town in Punjab, and watched 11 of their first 35 students get into IITs. (YourStory) After selling Lakshya to MT Educare in 2012, the same founding team launched Vedantu in 2014, betting that live, interactive online classes could scale what they’d built offline. (Wikipedia) A decade later, Vedantu has become one of the few Indian edtech unicorns to report a genuinely profitable quarter. (IndianStartupNews)
The Vedantu Story
Before founding Vedantu, the four co-founders spent nearly eight years building Lakshya into a respected offline mentoring brand, primarily preparing students for engineering and medical entrance exams. (StartupTalky) That experience shaped their conviction that quality teaching, not infrastructure, was the real bottleneck in Indian education, which is what led them to build Vedantu around live, teacher-led classes rather than pre-recorded video content. (Face MEEI Harvard)
When Krishna took Vedantu’s first live online class in 2014, the concept was so unfamiliar that people didn’t understand what a “live class” even meant. (YourStory) That early skepticism gradually gave way to scale, and the pandemic accelerated things further, with Vedantu growing revenue roughly 4x over two years as families shifted decisively toward online learning. (YourStory)
The company reached unicorn status in September 2021, raising $100 million in a Series E round led by Singapore-based ABC World Asia at a $1 billion valuation. (Business Standard) However, like most of India’s edtech sector, Vedantu faced a sharp post-pandemic correction, and FY22 losses swelled to ₹696 crore before the company began a multi-year effort to rebuild toward profitability. (IndianStartupNews)
Business Model
Vedantu earns revenue primarily through online tutoring subscriptions, supplemented by study materials and offline coaching:
| Revenue Stream | How It Works |
|---|---|
| Online tutoring | Live classes for grades 6–12, accounting for the bulk of operating revenue |
| Study materials and book sales | Structured content for grades 1–12 |
| Offline coaching centres | In-person classes launched in select cities in recent years |
| E-learning projects | Institutional and hostel-linked education initiatives |
(Sourced from Entrackr)
Funding History
| Round | Year | Amount | Key Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Series C | Feb 2021 | Undisclosed | Tiger Global, existing investors ($275M valuation) |
| Series D | May 2021 | $100 million | Coatue, Tiger Global, GGV Capital, WestBridge Capital |
| Series E | Sep 2021 | $100 million | ABC World Asia, Coatue, Tiger Global, GGV Capital |
| Convertible Note | Sep 2025 | $11 million | ABC Impact, Accel, Omidyar Network |
(Sourced from TechRadar and Tracxn)
Overall, Vedantu has raised roughly $322 million to date, reaching unicorn status in 2021 at a $1 billion valuation. (CB Insights) Its most recent raise, a $11 million convertible note in September 2025, was aimed partly at giving existing Chinese-linked investors an exit ahead of a potential future listing. (Tracxn)
Revenue and Growth
| Metric | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue from Operations | ₹185 crore | ₹227 crore (up 23%) |
| Loss Before Tax | ₹168.5 crore | ₹210 crore (up 25%) |
(Sourced from Entrackr)
Notably, once a one-time non-cash exceptional item tied to its Deeksha investment is included, Vedantu’s net loss for FY25 comes down to ₹123 crore, and the company reported its first-ever profitable quarter in Q4 FY25, with collections rising 67% year-on-year to ₹90 crore. (Entrackr; IndianStartupNews)
Vedantu vs Competitors
Vedantu competes with BYJU’S, Unacademy, and PhysicsWallah in India’s K-12 and test-prep edtech market. (Business Standard) Unlike some peers that scaled aggressively through acquisitions, Vedantu has stayed closely focused on its live-class format, betting that consistent execution around its founding model would eventually pay off as sector sentiment normalized.
Key Takeaways
- Vamsi Krishna, Pulkit Jain, Saurabh Saxena, and Anand Prakash founded Vedantu in 2014, building on their earlier venture Lakshya.
- The company became a unicorn in 2021 at a $1 billion valuation after a $100 million Series E round.
- Vedantu has raised roughly $322 million to date, including an $11 million convertible note in September 2025.
- FY25 revenue grew 23% to ₹227 crore, and the company posted its first profitable quarter in Q4 FY25.
- The company competes with BYJU’S, Unacademy, and PhysicsWallah in India’s edtech market.
FAQs
Who founded Vedantu?
Vamsi Krishna, Pulkit Jain, Saurabh Saxena, and Anand Prakash founded Vedantu in 2014.
Is Vedantu profitable?
Not yet on a full-year basis, though it reported its first profitable quarter in Q4 FY25.
How much funding has Vedantu raised?
Roughly $322 million, reaching a $1 billion valuation as a unicorn in 2021.
Who are Vedantu’s competitors?
BYJU’S, Unacademy, and PhysicsWallah in India’s K-12 and test-prep edtech space.
© The Founder Nation | Written by TFN Research Desk
