India's Physics Wallah raises $210 mln, more than doubling valuation to $2.8 bln
By Praveen Paramasivam
CHENNAI, Sept 20 (Reuters) -Physics Wallah has raised $210 million, more than doubling its estimated worth to $2.8 billion, the Indian education technology platform said on Friday, at a time when the rest of the industry has been struggling to mobilise capital.
The series B round, led by investment manager Hornbill Capital, shores up Physics Wallah's cash reserves as it plans to expand its business, including entering the K-12 education space and growing its offline business, as well as considering acquisitions.
Brick-and-mortar centres help build trust, its founder and CEO Alakh Pandey told Reuters, even though its online business — which contributes 55% to its revenue — is much more profitable.
Currently, Physics Wallah has more than 120 centres across the country, according to its website. Pandey did not specify how many new centres the company plans to open.
The fundraise comes during a challenging time for the education tech sector, which had, as of Thursday, raised only $1 billion in equity funding thus far this year compared with $2.39 billion last year, according to information provider Tracxn.
SoftBank-backed Unacademy and Tiger Global-backed Vedantu recently cut staff, while the fortunes of Byju's — which is facing insolvency — have turned due to regulatory issues and a dispute with U.S. banks demanding $1 billion in unpaid dues.
However, the four-year-old Physics Wallah's affordability is what works for it, according to multiple investors including venture capital fund GSV, Hornbill, and WestBridge.
Despite the focus on offline centres, Pandey expects Physics Wallah's online business to make up more than half of its revenue in fiscal 2025, and also help drive the company to its best year in terms of core earnings.
Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai; Editing by Janane Venkatraman
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