PhysicsWallah earns $100 million from Westbridge and GSV Ventures, becoming the first unicorn company in the world

PhysicsWallah, a bootstrapped edtech business, has raised $100 million in a Series A fundraising round from WestBridge Capital and GSV Ventures, valuing the company at a unicorn price, according to a statement released on June 7.

PhysicsWallah raised the funds at a valuation of $1.1 billion, making it India's 101st unicorn, according to the business. Since April of this year, PhysicsWallah has been the second startup to join the coveted unicorn club, compared to 11 in April-June 2021.

The cash will be used for business expansion, branding, the opening of more offline learning centres, and the introduction of new course options, according to PhysicsWallah.

Last month, Pandey stated that the company would focus heavily on the K-12 (kindergarten to grade 12) segment, as well as ventures into executive education. Pandey had also expressed gratitude for the donation.

PhysicsWallah claims to have 6.9 million YouTube viewers and 5.2 million Google Playstore downloads. In 2020 and 2021, the company claims that over 10,000 students passed competitive tests such as NEET and JEE (medical and engineering entrance exams).

According to PhysicsWallah, at least one student in every six medical schools and one in every ten engineering schools is a former student. The company claims to provide India's most cheap edtech packages.

PhysicsWallah currently employs 1900 people, including 500 teachers and roughly 100 IT professionals, according to the company. According to the company, it has 200 associate professors on staff to answer student questions and another 200 specialists to write exam questions and term papers.

"Since its beginning, the company has been profitable, with positive cash flows and reserves," Pandey said. "Compared to 2020-2021, our revenue increased ninefold in 2021-2022." He continued, "Our current run rate for FY 2023 is $65 million."

PhysicsWallah plans to release instructional content in Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Odia, Malayalam, and Kannada, among other languages. By 2025, the company hopes to connect with 250 million pupils, according to the corporation. PhysicsWallah will also open 20 offline tutoring classrooms, dubbed Pathshala, across India, according to the company. PW claims to have developed more than 20 centres in 18 locations, with more than 10,000 students enrolled for the 2022-2023 session.

PhysicsWallah's development aspirations come at a time when India's edtech sector is slowing down due to a reduction in demand for technology-based education solutions, owing to the reopening of schools, colleges, and physical tuition facilities.

Furthermore, due to a slowdown in global financial markets, funding to India's total startup ecosystem is drying up, forcing companies to lay off personnel, close non-core verticals, and rationalise advertising and marketing spends.

However, edtech startups, which had seen hypergrowth over the previous two years, appear to have been impacted the worst by the funding freeze. Since the beginning of 2022, edtech companies have laid off nearly 3,700 people.

"The Indian edtech ecosystem has grown significantly over the previous two years," said Sandeep Singhal, Managing Director of WestBridge Capital. "However, recent developments have proven the first-hand value of an effective edtech infrastructure."

"PW provides learners with long-tail value by providing high-quality education at a low cost. PW is one of the few startups that has a deep understanding of the education that Bharat requires today "Singhal continued.

Pandey told Moneycontrol in an interview that after the company gets funding, it will begin spending on branding and marketing through commercials.

"We have to establish a brand." We were thrilled that so many students found our platform through word of mouth rather than marketing. But now we want to reach out to students and parents to let them know about PhysicsWallah," Pandey said.