 "Physics Wallah founders Alakh Pandey and Prateek Mishra")
Physics Wallah founders Alakh Pandey and Prateek Mishra
Physics Wallah (PW), the education technology company, has closed its Series B funding round, raising $210 million. This investment brings the company’s post-money valuation to $2.8 billion, a 2.5x increase over its last valuation of $1.1 billion. The funding round was led by Hornbill Capital, with significant participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners, alongside continued support from its existing investors, GSV and WestBridge.
Physics Wallah stated that the funding round showcases optimism amidst challenging times for the edtech sector and reflects the confidence of both existing and new investors in PW’s growth.
“This investment is not just a validation of our efforts to democratise education and make quality education accessible to every student in India, but also a testament to the impact we have created over the years,” said Alakh Pandey, founder and chief executive officer of Physics Wallah.
Prateek Maheshwari, co-founder of Physics Wallah, said the new round of funding will enable the firm to expand its reach, enhance its technological capabilities, and improve the delivery of learning experiences. “This comes on the back of strong sustainable year-on-year growth. In fact, FY25 is going to be the year of the largest absolute profitability for the PW Group. There are no good or bad markets, only good or bad stories—and ours is a great impact story,” Maheshwari added.
Physics Wallah produces 9,500 hours of educational content every week with a student base across 18,808 pin codes, accounting for almost 98 per cent of pin codes in India. This funding will bolster its already significant cash reserves to support future growth plans. PW’s expansion from school education to skilling is integral to its strategic vision, designed to support students at every stage of their journey.
The funds raised will be strategically utilised to scale operations, with a key focus on consolidation in the education market.
Abhishek Mishra, chief strategy officer of Physics Wallah, said the firm plans to pursue inorganic expansion, enter the K-12 formal education segment, enhance its content and publication offerings, and explore mergers with community-driven education platforms across categories.
“We are very excited to welcome partners who share our values and principles and are aligned with our vision of creating societal impact at scale through quality education,” said Mishra.
Speaking about Hornbill’s investment in PW, Dubai-based Manoj Thakur, founder of Hornbill Capital, said that Physics Wallah is a rare combination of vision, execution, and impact with a thriving 3C model—Content, Community, and Commerce. “We are excited to see PW’s use of AI not only to help improve students’ outcomes but also their emotional well-being,” Thakur added.
Dev Khare, partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, said the community of students built over years of painstaking creation of quality educational videos, as well as reasonably priced offerings for online and offline courses, has made Physics Wallah a familiar brand name across India and all socioeconomic groups.
Sandeep Singhal, co-founder and managing partner at WestBridge, said the decision to double down on Physics Wallah is driven by the company’s growth, strong execution, and long-term vision. “We believe in the leadership of Alakh (Pandey) and Prateek (Maheshwari) and their ability to solve one of India’s biggest challenges, which is to provide world-class education at a low cost and at population scale,” Singhal stated.
Deborah Quazzo, managing partner at GSV Ventures, said the impact that Physics Wallah has had on students across Bharat is incredibly inspiring. “Our investment in PW, the largest commitment we’ve made to date, reflects our strong belief in the company’s commitment to quality and accessibility,” Quazzo remarked.
While the company has yet to disclose FY24 numbers, Physics Wallah’s revenue surged 3.3x to Rs 779 crore in FY23. However, the firm’s profit declined more than 90 per cent to Rs 8.87 crore in FY23, according to Entrackr.
The edtech unicorn is reportedly on course to report more than Rs 2,000 crore in revenue in the ongoing financial year (FY24).
According to data compiled by The Kredible, edtech startups raised only $138 million across 21 deals during the first half of 2024, a sharp fall from $456 million in 2023, $2.3 billion in 2022, and $5.8 billion in 2021.
First Published: Sep 20 2024 | 12:17 PM IST
