Physics Wallah founders Alakh Pandey and Prateek Mishra4 min read Last Updated : Sep 20 2024 | 2:08 PM ISTPhysics Wallah (PW) has raised $210 million at the close of a Series B funding round, said the education technology company on Friday, declaring that FY25 will mark "largest absolute profitability" for the group.The investment brings the companys post-money valuation to $2.8 billion, a more than twofold increase over its last valuation of $1.1 billion.
The funding round was led by Hornbill Capital, participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners and existing investors GSV and WestBridge.PW said that the funding round shows investors confidence in edtech and the company.
"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 PW.Prateek Maheshwari, co-founder of PW, said the funding will enable the company to improve reach and technology.
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, said Maheshwari.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.
PWs expansion from school education to skilling is integral to its strategic vision, designed to support students at every stage of their journey.Abhishek Mishra, chief strategy officer of PW, said the company will pursue inorganic expansion, enhance its content and publication offerings, and explore mergers with community-driven education platforms.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.Dubai-based Manoj Thakur, founder of Hornbill Capital, said Physics Wallah combines vision, execution and has a thriving "3C model": Content, community and commerce.
We are excited to see PWs use of AI (artificial intelligence) not only to help improve students outcomes but also their emotional well-being, Thakur said.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 invest in Physics Wallah is driven by the companys 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 Indias 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 companys commitment to quality and accessibility, Quazzo remarked.While the company has yet to disclose FY24 numbers, Physics Wallahs revenue grew more than threefold to Rs 779 crore in FY23.
However, the firms profit declined more than 90 per cent to Rs 8.87 crore in FY23, according to Entrackr.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 PMIST