Education Technology · Profile from Education Technology Research Companion
PhysicsWallah Ltd. (PW)
The test-prep company that grew out of Alakh Pandey's Hindi-language YouTube physics channel. It undercut India's edtech unicorns with batches priced in the low thousands of rupees, became a unicorn in 2022 on a record of profitability, built a large offline Vidyapeeth and Pathshala network, and listed on India's stock exchanges in November 2025.
At a glance
- Founded
- YouTube channel "Physics Wallah" started ~2014–2016 (sources vary) in Allahabad/Prayagraj; company incorporated 2020
- Founders
- Alakh Pandey (teacher, face of the brand) and Prateek Maheshwari (also known as Prateek Boob; business and technology)
- Headquarters
- Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
- Ownership / structure
- Public since 18 November 2025 (NSE and BSE; symbol PWL, verify). Founders held ~80% combined before the IPO (reported, ~40% each); investors include WestBridge Capital, GSV Ventures, Hornbill Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Think Investments
- Leadership (2026)
- Alakh Pandey, co-founder and CEO; Prateek Maheshwari, co-founder and whole-time director (verify titles)
- Segment and buyer
- Consumer test prep and K-12: JEE, NEET, government jobs exams (UPSC, SSC, banking, state exams), CA/commerce, K-12 boards, and upskilling (PW Skills). Students and parents pay; online, offline and hybrid
- Scale
- FY26 (year to March 2026) revenue from operations ~₹3,900 crore (~US$440m), up ~35%; net loss ~₹24 crore; offline ~45% of revenue (reported). Q1 FY27 revenue ~₹1,054 crore, net loss ~₹88 crore (reported). ~198 offline centres in 109 cities as of March 2025 (prospectus, reported). YouTube network with tens of millions of subscribers across channels
- Capital raised / valuation
- Series A ~US$100m at ~US$1.1bn (June 2022, WestBridge and GSV); Series B ~US$210m at ~US$2.8bn (September 2024, led by Hornbill). IPO ₹3,480 crore (~US$390m; ₹3,100 crore fresh, ₹380 crore secondary) at ₹103–109 per share, valuing the company at ~₹31,500 crore (~US$3.5bn) at the top of the band
- Signature moves
- Free YouTube teaching; low-price app batches (2020); profitable unicorn round (2022); Vidyapeeth offline centres (2022); acquisition spree including Xylem and iNeuron (2022–23); AI tutoring tools (2023–24); Series B (2024); IPO (2025). Misses: FY24 net loss of ~₹1,131 crore including write-downs; faculty departures in 2022; iNeuron problems
8 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
2014
YouTube Channel Origin
Launch
2020
Incorporation App and Low Price Batches
Launch and pricing change (from free to low-price paid)
2022
Vidyapeeth Offline Centres
Launch (offline expansion)
2022
WestBridge GSV Unicorn Round
Funding round
2023
AI Guru and Doubt Solving
AI launch
2023
Acquisition Spree Xylem iNeuron
Acquisition (series of deals)
2024
Hornbill Series B
Funding round
2025
IPO
IPO