Run by founders Alakh Pandey and Prateek Maheshwari, PhysicsWallah, which became a unicorn after surpassing a USD$1bn valuation, opened its public offering for subscription on November 11, with the bidding closing on November 13.

The IPO, comprising a Rs 3,100 crore (USD$350m) fresh issue and a Rs 380 crore (USD$42.9m) offer-for-sale (OFS) by Pandey and Maheshwari, raised Rs 1,563 crore (USD$176.4m) from anchor investors at Rs 109 per share, a day before the issue opened.

PhysicsWallah, known for its digital courses, physical centres, and hybrid programs, with a strong focus on India’s national-level engineering and medical exams as well as government exam prep, views the IPO as a key milestone.

We plan to open at least 70 centres annually over the next three years, with around Rs 400 crore allocated for this
_{^{Alakh Pandey, PhysicsWallah}}

The stock market listing makes PhysicsWallah India’s first pure-play edtech company to go public. Pandey said the IPO proceeds would be largely used to expand offline centres and boost branding.

“The first major expense after the IPO will be setting up new offline centres. This is our primary focus, as we plan to open at least 70 centres annually over the next three years, with around Rs 400 crore allocated for this,” stated Pandey, during a media briefing with reporters.

“Another Rs 400 crore will be spent on our existing centres, covering lease and rental expenses. Around Rs 700 crore will go toward branding and event marketing over the next three years, with at least Rs 250 crore each year. Additionally, Rs 200 crore will be allocated for technology upgrade and server costs, and the remaining funds will be used for general expenses.”

Backed by venture capital firms WestBridge Capital, Hornbill, and GSV Ventures, the company, strong in India’s tier-2 and tier-3 cities, sees the IPO as paving the way for further expansion in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Odisha, and Northeast India.

“Physics Wallah is an impactful organisation – from Tier 3 towns to villages, students everywhere are learning through our platform,” said Pandey.

PhysicsWallah hitting Dalal Street, India’s equivalent of Wall Street and home to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), comes at a time when some of the country’s biggest edtech competitors are seeing their businesses shrink.

While Byju’s, once the world’s “most valued” edtech startup, is facing takeover bids amid bankruptcy proceedings and lawsuits over “alleged harm to its reputation”, Unacademy has seen a year-on-year decline in total revenue over the past two years, with Upgrad reportedly considering acquiring the company at roughly a tenth of its last valuation of USD$3.44bn.

Though PhysicsWallah reported a 33% revenue jump to Rs 847 crore (USD$95.5m) in Q1FY26, its net losses widened to Rs 127 crore (USD$14.3m) due to a 39% rise in expenses.

The company, however, has maintained that its revenue has grown 90% over the past two years and that it maintains a strong cash balance.

“I want this company to be run with discipline, to grow responsibly, and to make it public in a way that benefits everyone. We are in a hyper-growth phase, and as we expand, we don’t want to slow down or fail to deliver. The IPO will also help us gain more trust and traction with parents.

“Online education will continue to be our biggest focus – whether it’s a student in Grade 6 or a college or UPSC aspirant. We currently reach 42 lakh (over 4 million) students, mostly in test prep, but we are expanding into school education and board exams. Our aim is to make affordable education accessible across regions,” Pandey added.

Despite initial optimism, reflected in domestic mutual funds taking up more than half of the allocation – indicating early institutional confidence – the demand in the public issue has remained lukewarm.

The IPO got off to a slow start, with Day 1 subscription at just 7% and Day 2 improving slightly to 12%, falling well short of market expectations.

By Day 3, the IPO reached 1.11x overall subscription, with the retail portion at 85%, non-institutional investors (NII) at 25%, qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) at 1.61x, and the employee portion subscribed 2.58x.

The basis of allotment, which determines how many shares each investor will actually receive, is expected on November 14, with listing likely on November 18.

Experts suggest that PhysicsWallah’s IPO, which saw muted subscription initially, signals broader caution for India’s edtech sector, which is facing declining market demand and revenue losses, with over 2,000 startups having shut down in the past five years.

But it’s not just PhysicsWallah. More edtech companies are eyeing the IPO route, including Imarticus Learning, Upgrad, Eruditus, and other education-related firms like Simplilearn and Leverage Edu.

Just recently, B2B education platform Crizac debuted on the Indian stock market, raising £74m in its IPO, with the listing expected to support the company’s expansion into new markets and services.

With funding in the edtech space rising five-fold in H1 2025, as per reports, industry insiders expect the next 12-24 months to bring a handful of IPOs.

“Edtech has gone through its ups and downs and has never been a very predictable sector. There are very few companies that can actually go public successfully,” Nikhil Barshikar, CEO and co-founder of Imarticus Learning, told The Entrepreneur in a recent interview.

“But now, more companies are focusing on cutting unprofitable or unpredictable business segments. My gut feeling is that in the next 24 months, we will see at least five to 10 listings from the edtech vertical.”