PhysicsWallah turns unicorn after raising $100 million

NEW DELHI: Edtech start-up PhysicsWallah has raised $100 million in Series A funding from Westbridge and GSV Ventures, becoming India’s 101st unicorn and the first edtech player to achieve this milestone, the company announced on Tuesday.

Once the transaction is completed, the company will be valued at $1.1 billion, it said in a statement.

PhysicsWallah said it will utilise these funds raised for business expansion, branding, opening more learning centres, and introducing more course offerings.

“We are delighted to join the unicorn bandwagon with this latest funding. This development will help us further our vision and implement new initiatives to augment the learning journeys of students, thereby enabling them to reach new heights in their careers,” said Alakh Pandey, Founder-CEO, in a statement.

Founded in 2016 by YouTube STEM educator Alakh Pandey and later joined by tech executive Prateek Maheshwari, PhysicsWallah offers online and offline courses and study materials for JEE, NEET and other engineering entrance and state board exams. The platform offers live classes, video lectures, test series and dynamic exercises for the aforementioned exams.

The edtech platform currently has 5.2 million Play Store downloads with a 4.7 rating and 6.9 million subscribers on YouTube.

The firm currently has 1900 employees, including 500 teachers and 90-100 tech experts. It also has 200 associate professors available to answer student queries and another 200 professionals to create exam questions and term papers.

The new funding announcement comes amid a downturn of edtech players in India, with many including BYJU’s-led WhiteHat Jr, Unacademy cost cutting and laying off employees due to fund crunch.

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