Alakh Pandey, a dropout-turned-teacher from Prayagraj, transformed a smartphone and whiteboard into Physics Wallah (PW), India’s edtech unicorn serving 4.46 million paid users with affordable JEE and NEET prep. With FY25 revenue surging 49% to Rs 2,887 crore and an IPO filing for Rs 3,820 crore targeting a $5 billion valuation, PW’s hybrid model bridges education gaps for Tier-II/III students in a market where 80% of aspirants can’t afford premium coaching, reinforcing edtech’s role in inclusive learning.
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Humble Beginnings: From Dropout to Digital Educator
Alakh Pandey, born October 2, 1991, in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, grew up in a middle-class family with a contractor father and schoolteacher mother. A top student, financial struggles forced him to drop out of Harcourt Butler Technical University’s mechanical engineering program in Kanpur during his third year. “I couldn’t afford the hostel; it was survival,” he shared in a 2024 YourStory interview.
Pandey began tutoring physics in Allahabad for Rs 5,000 monthly, using humor and relatable analogies to teach. In 2016, he launched the Physics Wallah YouTube channel, posting free physics videos for Class 11-12 JEE and NEET aspirants, targeting students priced out of Kota’s coaching hubs. His engaging style—likened to “a friend, not a textbook” in a 2023 Business Today profile—drove viral growth.
Launching PW: From YouTube to Unicorn
By 2018, PW’s channel had millions of views, prompting Pandey to formalize the platform in 2020 with co-founder Prateek Maheshwari. The PW app offered courses for Rs 5,000 annually, a fraction of competitors’ Rs 1-2 lakh fees. “Education is a right, not a luxury,” Pandey told Hurun in 2025. The platform expanded to UPSC, school boards, and 13 other categories, blending online learning with 198 offline centers by FY25.
PW became a unicorn in 2022 with a $100 million Series A from WestBridge Capital and GSV Ventures, valuing it at $1.1 billion. Total funding hit $312 million by 2025, boosting valuation to $3.7 billion pre-IPO.
Financial Surge and Operational Scale
PW’s FY25 revenue soared to Rs 2,887 crore (49% YoY growth), with online courses contributing Rs 1,404 crore (48.6%) and offline/hybrid centers Rs 1,352 crore (46.8%). Losses narrowed 78% to Rs 243 crore from Rs 1,131 crore in FY24, per DRHP filings. Paid users grew 153% to 4.46 million, with 2.7 million daily active users averaging 111 minutes daily.
Offline centers expanded from 124 to 198 across 109 cities, driving 45% of revenue. Digital reach included 98.8 million YouTube subscribers across 207 channels, with the flagship at 13.7 million.
PW Revenue Growth (FY23-FY25)
Grok can make mistakes. Always check original sources.
Source: DRHP filings cited in Moneycontrol and Entrackr.
User Engagement Metrics (FY25)
Grok can make mistakes. Always check original sources.
Source: Company data cited in Business Standard.
IPO Ambitions: Eyeing $5 Billion Valuation
In March 2025, PW filed confidentially for a Rs 3,820 crore IPO—Rs 3,100 crore fresh issue for expansion, Rs 720 crore OFS by Pandey (40.35% stake) and Maheshwari. SEBI approved pre-filing in July; the RHP is imminent, targeting a late 2025 listing at $5 billion, per VCCircle. Funds will support 300 new centers and tech enhancements like AI-driven study tools.
Pandey’s net worth soared to Rs 14,520 crore, up 223% in 2025, landing him on the Hurun Rich List, per NDTV.
Social Impact and Edtech Resilience
PW’s low-cost model—80% users from Tier-II/III cities—addresses India’s education inequity, where only 20% of JEE/NEET aspirants access quality coaching. It employs 5,000, trains former students as educators, and launched PW Certification for rural teachers. Pandey’s advocacy for NEET reforms and motivational videos, like his April 2025 message to JEE failures—“This is just a detour”—resonate widely.
Married to journalist Shivani Dubey since 2023, Pandey donates to underprivileged schools, reinforcing his roots-driven ethos.
Future Horizons: Global and Profitable
PW plans UAE and Middle East expansion, targeting Rs 6,000 crore revenue by FY27 with profitability in FY26. Pandey’s journey—from Rs 5,000 tutor to billionaire—shows education can scale without elitism. “We’re selling belief, not just courses,” he told The Economic Times in 2025.
In an edtech landscape bruised by post-COVID corrections, PW proves affordability and impact can coexist, lighting paths for millions.
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