PhysicsWallah, an EdTech business, revealed on Tuesday, June 7, that it has acquired $100 million in Series A funding from WestBridge Capital and GSV Ventures, making it India's 101st unicorn and the first EdTech company to do so. The company will be valued at $1.1 billion after the sale is completed, according to an IANS copy.
PhysicsWallah plans to use the cash received for business expansion, branding, the opening of additional learning centres and the introduction of new course options, according to the company. "We are delighted to join the unicorn bandwagon with this latest funding. This development will help us further our vision and implement new initiatives to augment the learning journeys of students, thereby enabling them to reach new heights in their careers," said Alakh Pandey, Founder and CEO, in a statement.
PhysicsWallah is an online and offline course and study material provider for JEE, NEET and other engineering entrance and State Board exams. It was founded in 2016 by renowned YouTube STEM educator Alakh Pandey and later joined by tech executive Prateek Maheshwari. For the aforementioned tests, the platform provides live seminars, video lectures, test series and dynamic activities.
The EdTech platform currently has 5.2 million downloads on the Play Store with a 4.7 rating and 6.9 million YouTube followers. The company currently employs 1900 people, with 500 professors and 90-100 tech professionals. It also has 200 associate professors on staff to help students with their questions, as well as another 200 experts who generate exam questions and term papers.
The fresh capital comes amid a downturn in EdTech in India, with numerous companies, like BYJU-led WhiteHat Jr and Unacademy, slashing costs and laying off personnel due to a lack of funds. "The company has been profitable since inception with positive cash flows and reserves," said Pandey. "Our revenue grew 9-fold in the year 2021-2022 vis-a-vis 2020-2021. Our current run rate for FY2023 is at $65 million," he added.
PhysicsWallah is planning to provide instructional content in nine vernacular languages, including Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Odia, Malayalam and Kannada, in order to reach every corner of the country and interact with 250 million plus students by 2025. The company also plans to construct 20 offline coaching classrooms across India to help close the accessibility gap. PhysicsWallah has established more than 20 centres across 18 cities with more than 10,000 students enrolled for the 2022-2023 session.