Not every acquisition happens with a bang. Sometimes it's a quiet board resolution, a filing on a stock exchange website, and a number that tells the whole story. That's exactly how PhysicsWallah's latest move unfolded this week, when the listed edtech firm approved a fresh investment of Rs 71.8 crore into Sarrthi IAS, the UPSC-focused coaching platform it first backed less than a year ago.
The math is simple but the implications are big. This tranche pushes PhysicsWallah's ownership from 40% to 51%, crossing the threshold that turns Sarrthi IAS from a minority bet into a full-fledged subsidiary. It's the kind of step-by-step consolidation that was actually planned well in advance, part of a staged deal signed back in September 2025 to acquire up to 85% of the company across six tranches running all the way to FY31, with each stage priced against the company's evolving EBITDA.
What makes this particular story interesting is the pace of growth backing it up. Sarrthi IAS, founded only in 2023, went from a modest Rs 1.04 crore in revenue in FY24 to Rs 28.46 crore in FY25, and then leapt again to Rs 76.52 crore in FY26. Its net worth now stands at Rs 33.96 crore. For a three-year-old coaching brand, that's a steep climb, and it explains why PhysicsWallah is willing to keep writing checks.
For PhysicsWallah, this deepens a push beyond its traditional K12 and test-prep roots into the high-stakes world of civil services preparation, a segment where trust, mentorship, and long study cycles matter as much as content quality. Whether this steady, tranche-by-tranche approach becomes the edtech sector's preferred way of doing M&A remains to be seen, but for now, it's working exactly as scripted.
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Written by
Team Startup Unplugged
