Physics Wallah raises $210 Mn in Series B, valuation soars to $2.8 Bn

Edtech company Physics Wallah (PW) has raised $210 million in a Series B funding round led by Hornbill Capital, with participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners, GSV, and WestBridge. 

According to the company, this investment brings its post-money valuation to $2.8 billion, a 2.5X increase from its previous valuation of $1.1 billion when the Noida-based firm raised $100 million in Series A.

Entrackr exclusively reported on Physics Wallah’s Series A and Series B rounds.

The funds will be used to scale operations, with a focus on consolidating the education market, the company said in a press release. It also aims for inorganic expansion, entry into the K-12 segment, enhanced content offerings, and potential mergers with community-driven education platforms.

“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 CEO of Physics Wallah.

Founded in 2020 by Pandey and Prateek Maheshwari, Physics Wallah offers online and offline courses and study materials for JEE, NEET, and other engineering entrance exams, along with state board exams. Additionally, the company runs divisions focused on skilling, higher education, and study abroad. Its Institute of Innovation (IOI) features 4-year residential programs that emphasize job readiness.

Initially launched as a YouTube channel in 2014, Physics Wallah claims to offer free education to over 4.6 crore (46 million) students through its 112+ YouTube channels in five vernacular languages. Its app has been downloaded more than 30 million times, with 5.5 million paid students.

Physics Wallah’s revenue surged 3.3X to Rs 779 crore in FY23, though its profit dropped by more than 90% to Rs 8.87 crore. While the company has yet to release its FY24 results, it anticipates reaching Rs 2,000 crore in revenue for the last fiscal year.

The funding comes at a time when investment in edtech companies has slowed significantly. According to data compiled by TheKredible, edtech startups raised around $160 million across 27 deals in 2024 to date. In comparison, edtech funding totaled $456 million in 2023, $2.3 billion in 2022, and $5.8 billion in 2021.