Edtech unicorn Physics Wallah Pvt Ltd Friday said it has raised $210 million (Rs 1,754 crore) in its Series B funding round that was led by Hornbill Capital, with significant participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners as well as existing investors GSV and WestBridge.
This investment brings the company’s post-money valuation to an impressive $2.8 billion, more than a 2.5x jump over its last valuation of $1.1 billion achieved in its Series A funding round in June 2022.
"This new round of funding will enable us to expand our reach, enhance our technological capabilities, and continue delivering unparalleled learning experiences. This comes on the back of strong sustainable y-o-y growth,” said Prateek Maheshwari, co-founder of Physics Wallah. “FY25 is going to be the year of largest absolute profitability for the PW Group.”
The company plans to use the funding to bolster its already significant cash reserves to support future growth plans. The funds raised will also be used to scale operations, with a key focus on consolidation in the education market.
Physics Wallah plans to pursue inorganic expansion, enter the K-12 formal education segment, improve its content and publication offerings, and explore mergers with community-driven education platforms across categories.
"This investment is not just a validation of our efforts to democratize 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.
Founded in 2020 by Pandey and Maheshwari, Noida-based Physics Wallah provides online and offline courses for JEE, NEET, and other entrance and state board exams. The platform features live classes, video lectures, test series, and interactive exercises. It claims it produces 9,500 hours of educational content every week with a student base across 18,808 pin codes.
“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 the breadth and width of India and across all socioeconomic groups," said Dev Khare, partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners.
The company’s operating revenue jumped 234% to Rs 779.3 crore in the financial year ended March 2023 from Rs 233 crore in the previous year. Its net profit, however, declined to Rs 8.9 crore in FY23 from Rs 103.1 crore in the fiscal before. While the company is yet to file its financials with the Registrar of Companies (RoC) for FY24, Maheshwari had said that the company was targeting a revenue of Rs 2,000 crore for the fiscal.
