Lead School targets 20% growth in FY27, eyes IPO in two to three years

Edtech startup Lead School is aiming for near 20% revenue expansion in fiscal year 2027 and expects its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to surge as much as three times to roughly Rs 90 crore, according to cofounder and chief executive Sumeet Mehta. The Mumbai-based company reported a 10% rise in operating revenue to Rs 386 crore in FY26, while operating EBITDA jumped sevenfold to Rs 30 crore from Rs 4 crore.

Net loss narrowed to around Rs 33 crore from Rs 43 crore in FY25, with Mehta predicting Lead will either be profitable or break even in FY27.

The growth lag was mainly due to a delayed rollout of AI-powered spoken-English product Miss Curie, as the firm spent extra time testing learning outcomes amid rapid AI model changes. Disruptions to Lead's Middle East publishing business and delays in upselling grades 9 and 10 due to new CBSE textbook uncertainty also impacted expansion.

However, Miss Curie is now utilized by around 20,000 students across 70 schools and the company aims to grow it to over 500 schools within a year. Its Techbook product is a Rs 25-30 crore business, with Mehta anticipating Miss Curie to reach a similar scale next year. AI-powered products could make up 25-30% of Lead's business over time.

Lead currently serves approximately 9,000 active schools, up from 8,400 a year earlier. The company signed about 900 new schools and lost around 300 during the year, resulting in roughly 600 net additions. Net revenue retention remained close to 100%, slightly below the 110% target, mainly because of the delayed AI launch and textbook uncertainty.

Mehta also downgraded Lead's earlier goal of reaching 60,000 schools, now projecting 20,000-25,000 over the next five years. While learning systems accounted for 76% of FY26 revenue, publishing made up the rest. Lead acquired Pearson's India K-12 business in 2023, which would expand its network to around 9,000 schools from 3,500.

Lead has since converted some publishing customers to its full learning system, with about 100 schools upgraded every two years, increasing revenue per school threefold.

Mehta recently infused Rs 21 crore into Lead to support its AI initiatives, saying the firm does not require external capital for organic growth, though it could raise funds for acquisitions. The company hasn't raised capital since a $100 million equity round in 2022 at a $1.1 billion valuation. On an IPO, Mehta mentioned investment bankers have shown interest but the company wants to first achieve a larger revenue and profitability base. "Between FY28 and FY29 we will be in a good place," he said.