Physics Wallah’s grades slip in FY24

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The heady days of rapid growth for the edtech industry are over, and companies have been forced to adapt to this post-pandemic reality.

Some like Byju’s have been less than successful at returning to the offline world. The former unicorn and standard bearer for Indian edtech is now grappling with multiple investor lawsuits and a valuation that has dropped to zero.

Today’s featured story focuses on Physics Wallah, a peer of Byju’s. While Physics Wallah has fallen into the red and followed some of its competitor’s offline moves, it might have a chance at sustainable growth since it hasn’t taken the big swings Byju’s took.

For now though, Physics Wallah’s mid-term report card isn’t looking great.

Today we look at:

• A rocky 2024 financial year for Physics Wallah
• Indonesia’s US$88 billion token opportunity
• Other newsy highlights such as Indian quick commerce player Zepto eyeing a US$300 million fundraise and a Singaporean edtech firm launching an AI-driven Mandarin library

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Poor marks

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Though it was once one of India’s few profitable edtech firms, Physics Wallah was deep in the red for the financial year ending March 2024.

Its revenue did increase but at a much slower pace than its losses.

• Expensive proposition: The firm started as a YouTube channel by teacher Alakh Pandey in 2016. It became an edtech startup in 2020, with Prateek Maheshwari joining as a co-founder. The company’s increased losses were largely due to soaring expenses, which jumped 4x year on year in 2024.
• Class is in session: Physics Wallah’s co-founders told Moneycontrol in September that FY 2025 will be its “highest absolute EBITDA year.” They added that the firm’s decision to invest in offline learning centers was beginning to pay off.
• Do as I say, not as I do: Byju’s, once the star of India’s edtech scene, had also expanded into offline centers. But the unicorn has since fallen from grace, with its valuation now at zero. Physics Wallah has taken a leaf from the Byju’s playbook by acquiring other startups, though its bets have been considerably more conservative in terms of average deal size.

Read more: No A+ here: Physics Wallah widens losses in FY2024

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