Indian edtech startup secures $210 million in modern funding amidst challenging times for education technology companies in the country following the collapse of Byju’s, once the largest player in the space.
Physics Wallah announced the closure of its $100 million Collection B funding round, led by Hornbill Capital, a joint venture between China’s Orchid Asia and India’s Hornbill, with Lightspeed Ventures Partners “substantially” participating, along with existing backers WestBridge and GSV Venture Fund. The physics education platform, Physics Wallah, boasts a valuation of $2.8 billion, marking a substantial increase from its June 2022 assessment.
To date, the startup has secured more than $310 million in funding. The company secured the biggest funding deal for an Indian edtech since 2022, comprising a secondary transaction worth approximately $35 million, in which its founders and employees collectively sold some of their shares.
Physics Wallah began life as a humble platform, where co-founder and instructor Alakh Pandey shared his lectures freely to help college students who, like him, struggled financially to access top-tier learning resources. By 2020, Physics Wallah’s exponential growth had propelled it to become India’s preeminent online learning platform on YouTube, prompting Pandey to transform his initiative into a fully-fledged organization that currently supports over 46 million learners across five vernacular languages.
“He’s always felt frustrated by his inability to crack the IIT entrance exam due to lack of access to quality training,” said Prateek Maheshwari, co-founder of Physics Wallah, revealing the impetus behind the startup’s endeavor.
With a population of over one billion, India is home to one of the world’s biggest education ecosystems, featuring approximately 250 million students enrolled in educational institutions annually, while around four million candidates take entrance exams for coveted spots in engineering and medical colleges each year?
Physics Wallah serves a diverse range of customers, including elementary school students through to those preparing for competitive engineering and medical entrance exams, as well as government positions. The platform offers expansive live courses that consistently attract hundreds of thousands of concurrent participants.
The education technology startup, operating over 180 physical locations, leverages the expertise of teaching assistants and artificial intelligence to address student inquiries, and has created a mobile application called AI Guru that empowers learners to resolve doubts surrounding their academic materials. Maheshwari stated that Physics Wallah has actually honed its AI capabilities using its own vast knowledge.
One of Physics Wallah’s key strengths lies in the affordability of its programs, boasting prices starting from just $50 for a full year of learning. According to the startup, its platform boasts more than 5.5 million college student paying subscribers.
India’s exam preparation landscape is dominated by Coaching Institutes, with our own organisation standing out as the top player for tests like JEE, NEET, GATE, UPSC, and CAT, consistently ranking No. When discussing income and the scope of the services provided to a predominantly female client base, Maheshwari noted.
Traction gained by Physics Wallah is yielding substantial financial results: The edtech company reported a significant income of $96.2 million for the 12-month period ending March 2023, and the startup revealed to TechCrunch that its income has skyrocketed 2.5 times between March last year and March 2024. Expected to deliver its highest-ever profitability for the fiscal year ending March 2025, primarily driven by strong EBITDA performance.
Dev Khare, an investor at Lightspeed, and one of the earliest backers of Indian edtech startups, told TechCrunch that several converging trends have contributed to Physics Wallah’s success. The entrepreneur emphasized that once value is delivered at a lower tier, it significantly simplifies the path forward, citing instances like,, and in the Lightspeed portfolio, where similar strategies were employed.
According to Maheshwari, Physics Wallah will explore alternative solutions for inorganic growth using existing funds; he noted, though, that the company largely secured capital because the funding was available and investors perceived value in doing so. The conglomerate, having absorbed approximately ten companies over the past three years, is weighing a potential initial public offering (IPO), but warned that it would not rush into any hasty decisions.
New funding pours in to bolster India’s edtech industry as it navigates significant challenges. Online education platforms that experienced rapid growth during the COVID-19 pandemic, when schools were shuttered, have witnessed a pronounced downturn in usage since.
Unacademy, a leading edtech company headquartered in Bengaluru, has The company announced a restructuring effort in July, resulting in the elimination of 250 positions, in order to improve its financial performance and achieve long-term sustainability.
Byju’s, once valued at a staggering $22 billion as India’s most prized startup, has experienced a significant decline over the past two years. The corporation now faces a significant challenge.
Maheshwari notes that recent trade developments have had no discernible impact on the market’s trajectory. Despite the pandemic’s significant impact, academia remains largely unchanged from a scholarly perspective. The market has become a seamless blend of online and offline platforms, allowing college students to reap the benefits of both worlds, thereby enhancing their overall preparedness.
According to Manoj Thakur, founder of Hornbill Capital, Physics Wallah is a unique blend of vision, execution, and passion, with its thriving 3C model comprising Content, Community, and Commerce. “We’re thrilled to see Project Why’s innovative integration of AI not just improving student outcomes, but also fostering a deeper sense of emotional well-being.”
No financial institution was formally appointed to facilitate the transaction.
