India, September 20’ 2024 – Physics Wallah Private Limited (PW), India’s leading education company, has closed its Series B funding round, raising INR1,760 Crore. This investment brings the company’s post-money valuation to an impressive INR 23,500 crore, 2.5x jump over its last valuation of INR 8,000 Crore. The funding round was led by Hornbill Capital, with significant participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners, alongside the continued support of its existing investors, GSV and WestBridge.
Physics Wallah’s funding round serves as a beacon of optimism amidst challenging times for the EdTech sector, showcasing the unwavering confidence of both existing and new investors in Physics Wallah’s growth and its mission to democratize education across India. The remarkable interest from both new and existing investors underscores the strong belief in PW’s ability to deliver quality education to Bharat’s next generation.
Alakh Pandey, Founder and CEO of Physics Wallah, expressed his gratitude, stating, “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. Prateek and I are excited to partner with Hornbill Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners in this journey, and we deeply appreciate the continued trust from WestBridge and GSV.”
Prateek Maheshwari, Co-founder of Physics Wallah, added, “Our focus has always been on creating value for our students and ensuring their success. 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 – in fact FY25 is going to be the year of largest absolute EBIDTA profitability for the PW Group. There are no good or bad markets but only good or bad stories – and ours is a great impact story!”
Physics Wallah produces 9,500 hours of educational content every week with a student base across 18,808 pin codes, accounting for almost 98% of pin codes in India. This funding will bolster its already significant cash reserves to support its future growth plans. PW’s expansion from school education to skilling is integral to the strategic vision, designed to support students at every stage of their journey and solidify its role as a trusted, comprehensive partner in education and career advancement.
The funds raised will be strategically utilized 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, enhance its content and publication offerings, and explore mergers with community-driven education platforms across categories. As PW moves forward, it remains steadfast in its commitment to empowering students and helping them achieve their academic aspirations through these strategic initiatives.
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Abhishek Mishra, Chief Strategy Officer of Physics Wallah, who ran the end-to-end process, delightfully remarked, “We were overwhelmed to see such excitement and response for our Series B funding round from both new and existing suite of investors. 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.”
Speaking about Hornbill’s investment in PW, Dubai-based Manoj Thakur, Founder of Hornbill Capital, remarked, “Physics Wallah is a rare combination of vision, execution, and impact with a thriving 3C model – Content, Community, and Commerce. We are excited to see PW’s use of AI not only to help improve students’ outcomes but also their emotional well-being. We are thrilled to lead this round of investment and support PW in its mission to provide quality education at affordable prices through the use of cutting-edge technology.”
“We are excited to partner with Alakh and Prateek to support their mission to bring quality education to every student in India. 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.
Sandeep Singhal, Co-founder and Managing Partner at WestBridge, shared his enthusiasm, “Our decision to double down on Physics Wallah is driven by the company’s exceptional growth, strong execution, and long-term vision. We believe in the leadership of Alakh and Prateek and their ability to solve one of India’s stickiest problem, which is to provide world class education at super low cost and at population scale. In that, PW is probably one of the highest social impact enterprise that I have ever seen.”
Deborah Quazzo, Managing Partner at GSV Ventures, echoed these sentiments, stating, “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 company’s commitment to quality and accessibility. The PW team has a unique ability to democratize education on a global scale, delivering high-quality learning at an affordable cost. The positive outcomes achieved by PW students align perfectly with our investment philosophy, and we are excited to further strengthen our partnership.”
