As visa crackdowns and diplomatic tensions block traditional study abroad routes, Indian Leverage EDU helps students evoke dreams from Canada to Germany, India to Nigeria and Saudi Arabia. Its agility is rewarding. Startups have doubled their revenues, increased profitability and are now expanding their global footprint.
Over the past few months, emerging market students have faced growing uncertainty regarding international university admissions. From the 2023-India-Canada standoff to new stocks in India, to new stocks around tariffs and immigration policies, changing visa rules and diplomatic tensions – has destroyed application timelines and eligibility for thousands. Countries such as Canada and Australia have introduced stricter student visa policies and have caught many families off guard. Even longtime local consultants and study abroad airlines have struggled to adapt. Meanwhile, Leverage is the startup behind the Leveraged EDU of the Learning Aviation Platform – responding by helping students identify alternative destinations, quickly adjust and maintain their plans despite the confusion.
The 8-year-old startup responded quickly when India-Canada relations became sour, re-routing Indian students to Germany and helping Canadian universities recruit from Nigeria. Currently, we apply the same playbook among US and Indian stocks.
Leverage continues to send students to the US, but now there is an increasing demand from countries like Brazil and Vietnam. Interest in American universities remains strong, founder and CEO Akshay Chaturvedi said in an interview.
The ability to move rapidly across regions is currently at the heart of leverage’s growth strategy. Over the past two months, the startup has expanded to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Vietnam and Malaysia. The number of students seeking to study abroad has expanded to emerging markets where access to structured admissions support is limited. With this push, Leverage is currently operating in 16 countries recruiting students, supporting applications to universities in 11 destination countries.
Beyond applications, the Noida-based startup, located on the outskirts of New Delhi, has established itself as a full-service platform for international education, helping students plan, raise and manage their journeys. The tools include a mobile app, an AI-powered course search engine, a university matchmaking tool called Uniconnect, and a SaaS suite for global universities, newly launched under the brand Univalley.ai.
Also, startups have expanded to adjacent categories. LevaredUnder Levare EDU Leverage MBB for Medical Aspirants and other services with educational loan flyfinance, student housing flyhomes, and leveraged leveraged carriers and compass.
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We have over 10,000 students per year, starting from about 1,500 a few years ago, and over 10,000 students each year. According to Chaturvedi, much of its growth comes through organic demand, with 60% of student acquisitions having to zero customer acquisition costs.
“Our gap has shrunk alongside most of our global competitors who were either large listed companies or who have sourced some of these mega-rounds,” he told TechCrunch.
Financially, leverage has grown rapidly, making it profitable for the first time this year. This is rare in the Edtech sector in India. The startup closed in 2025, earning revenues of over £1.8 billion (approximately $20 million), doubleping from the previous year’s £900 million (approximately $10 million). It is expected to close the fiscal year with revenue of 37 billion pounds (approximately $45 million) between April and September of the first half of 2026.
In terms of profitability, leverage is expected to win between 120 million and 130 million (approximately $14-1.5 million) in post-tax profits, exceeding 250 million ($2.8 million) by the end of 2026.
Startups generate roughly 25% of revenue from platform businesses that support students beyond enrollment with value-added services, including loans, money transfers, housing, internships and helping with first jobs. The remaining 75% of the revenue comes from the Core Education Business, a student placement and counseling service. Of them, about 20% will earn directly from students, and 55% will earn 55% from the committee’s university, Chaturvedi told TechCrunch.
India is the largest source market for leverage, accounting for 58% of student bases. Domestic, startups focus on states such as Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Punjab.
In terms of destinations, the UK is the largest market for leverage, accounting for 52% of student placement, followed by Germany in 22%. Italy is also attracting attention this summer’s fastest growing market – the fastest growing market.
North America currently accounts for less than 5% of total leverage placements, reflecting recent visa rules and diplomatic headwinds. The startup expects this share to increase as its presence expands in Latin America, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
Plan’s Indian IPO, possibly 2026
With rising revenues and growing global footprint, the startup is currently weighing potential IPOs in India next year, with investment bankers already taking an early pitch.
Although founder and CEO Chaturvedi did not deny the possibility of a public listing, he said he would decide whether to pursue an IPO or raise external capital after reaching the $100 million revenue milestone the company expects to reach in 2026.
So far, leverage has raised less than $50 million in stocks. The company operates in 27 countries through more than 50 offices and has approximately 800 people.
