Physics Wallah has rosy day for IPO, weathering broader slowdown in Indian edtech

Indian edtech startup Physics Wallah ended its first day as a public company on a high note, with its shares closing 44% higher than where they listed, suggesting the country’s edtech sector may still be recovering after years of gloom.

At ₹109, the company’s shares rose to ₹161.99 before closing at ₹156.49, valuing it at ₹448 billion (about $5 billion). This is significantly higher than its listing valuation of $315 billion (about $3.6 billion), and approximately 79% higher than the last private valuation of $2.8 billion in September 2024.

Physics Wallah raised ₹34.8 billion (about $393 million) in its IPO. Of this amount, INR 31 billion (about US$350.1 million) was sold through a fresh issue of shares, while shares worth INR 3.8 billion (about US$42.9 million) were sold by co-founders Alakh Pandey and Pratik Bob, who together owned about 80% of the company before the listing.

The strong IPO highlights the company’s remarkable arc of growth since its humble beginnings as a YouTube channel run by Pandey in 2016. It is now standing out in an industry plagued by layoffs, drying up of funding, and the breakup of once high-flying rival Byju’s. Today, the company offers courses to prepare for exams and raise skills through its website, applications and offline centers.

The company’s rise comes at a time when its larger rivals are struggling for business. Byju’s, once India’s most valuable startup at $22 billion, has suffered a corporate governance crisis, is locked in legal battles with lenders, and is dealing with a severe cash crunch that has led to mass layoffs. The Bengaluru-based startup is currently undergoing insolvency proceedings in both India and the US

Unacademy, another high-profile edtech company, has also sharply scaled back operations and cut staff, and is reportedly in talks to be acquired by upskilling platform UpGrad for $300 million to $400 million — a sharp decline from its $3.44 billion valuation in 2021.

In fiscal 2025, Physics Wallah said its revenue increased 49% to ₹28.9 billion (about $326 million) from the previous year, while its net loss narrowed to ₹2.4 billion (about $27.5 million) from ₹11.31 billion (about $127.7 million). Online channels accounted for 48.6% of operating revenue, while offline centers contributed 46.8%. The company also announced 4.5 million paid subscribers, an increase of 23% over last year.

“It is a good milestone that the IPO is coming our way,” Pandey said during the company’s IPO event in Mumbai. “But the mission and vision still need a lot to complete.”

Physics Wallah plans to deploy most of the IPO proceeds on expanding its offline positions, enhancing its technology stack, and financing potential acquisitions. The company has already aggressively expanded its offline presence and currently operates 303 centers across 152 cities in India and the Middle East as of June 2025, up from 182 centers last year.