Alakh Pandey: The Visionary Behind PhysicsWallah’s $5 Billion IPO Dream

The Indian primary market is flooded with upcoming IPOs of various sectors. One of the popular IPOs among the category is the Alakh Pandey IPO or the PhysicsWallah IPO.

Alakh Pandey, the man behind PhysicsWallah, one of India’s most popular edtech platforms launched his IPO on Nov 11 and is aiming for $5 bn. Alakh Pandey’s journey is at the core of the company's brand and its primary competitive moat. Here is a brief look at his journey.

Early Life And Educational Background

Alakh’s journey did not start in a boardroom. Instead, it began in a small room in Prayagraj (then Allahabad) in 2016. Alakh Pandey was an engineering dropout. He began uploading free physics lectures to YouTube. His relatable, clear, and passionate teaching style immediately resonated with students. These were particularly middle and lower-income families who could not afford the expensive coaching required for competitive exams like JEE and NEET. And thus began his popularity.

Journey To IPO

Alakh Pandey’s "authenticity" was the key differentiator in his teaching. PhysicsWallah rivals like Byju's (now facing insolvency) and Unacademy (grappling with cost cuts) had spent fortunes on celebrity endorsements and high-decibel marketing. However, PhysicsWallah took a different route. It grew almost entirely through organic, word-of-mouth and deep community trust.

From Teacher to YouTube Educator To “The PhysicsWallah”

The PhysicsWallah Alakh Pandey model had utilised YouTube as a zero-cost student acquisition funnel. Students developed a strong loyalty, not just to the platform, but to the teacher, Alakh Pandey Sir. Certain decisions from PhysicsWallah Alakh Pandey further cemented their brand spirit. These included halving his salary and waiving student fees.

This very clearly showed the people that PhysicsWallah was not just a business, but much more. He famously refused lucrative buyouts and poaching offers from competitors. He proved time and again that he didn’t build PhysicsWallah to sell it, he built it to genuinely teach. This resilience and mission-driven narrative is what defines the PhysicsWallah IPO.

Building A Movement In Affordable Education

PhysicsWallah's competitive edge is its disruptive pricing. The core courses are priced between ₹1,000 and ₹6,000. This has fundamentally undercut competitors who charge up to twenty times more. This strategy has also unlocked an unmatched scale. The user base now has over 46 million learners on YouTube and over 5.5 million paying students.

The Road To Unicorn Status

PhysicsWallah’s evolution is a remarkable one in India’s edtech space. Just under a decade, it successfully evolved from a modest YouTube channel to a multi-billion-dollar unicorn.

It achieved a $1.1 bn valuation in its Series A round in Jun 2022. It subsequently received a $3.7 bn valuation by Feb 2025 . The Physicswallah IPO is now set to test the market's appetite for an edtech model built on affordability and founder-led trust. This is during a time when the broader edtech sector remains under immense pressure.

IPO Details And Key Insights

PhysicsWallah is one of India’s most disruptive edtech platforms. The PhysicsWallah IPO date is on Nov 11 (open date). The company is planning to raise ₹3,480 Cr through the IPO investment. The IPO is open for subscription till Nov 13. The price band has been set at ₹103 to ₹109 per equity share.

The company is targeting a valuation of over ₹31,500 Cr at the upper end. The IPO includes:

• A ₹3,100 crore fresh issue
  
• A ₹380 crore OFS (Offer For Sale) by promoters Alakh Pandey and Prateek Boob.
  

Business Model And Financial Performance

Investors seem to be interested in the business scale, even with a negative EBITDA in FY25.

PhysicsWallah revenue grew an explosive 2.6x YoY, from ₹744 Cr in FY23 to ₹1,940 Cr in FY24.

The Physicswallah IPO prospectus, however, shows the company's losses have narrowed significantly to ₹243 Cr in FY25 from ₹1,131 Cr the previous year, as revenue climbed to ₹2,887 Cr.

The adjusted figures (excluding non-cash costs like ESOPs) have actually shown profitability, with ₹67 Cr in EBITDA and positive operating cash flow.

This is highlighting the discipline and scalability that rivals lack. The PhysicsWallah CEO, Alakh Pandey, has attributed this resilience to measured marketing and affordable pricing. Students trust Alakh Pandey Sir not just as a teacher, but as a brand promise that has proven to be a financially viable model.

The PhysicsWallah IPO proceeds are earmarked for funding expansion and growth initiatives. The Alakh Pandey journey has diversified aggressively, moving from a single channel to a complete ecosystem.

The most visible expansions are the offline "Vidyapeeth" and "Pathshala" centres. As of June 30, 2025, PhysicsWallah is operating 303 offline centres across 152 cities. This is up from 182 just a year earlier. This hybrid model is a core part of the strategy. Alakh Pandey, the PhysicsWallah CEO has emphasised that the company is following a hyperlocal approach to set up hubs in new cities. This can reduce the need for students to migrate for coaching. This offline presence can also enhance credibility and capture a market segment with limited internet connectivity. The trust in PhysicsWallah Alakh Pandey is also being leveraged to cross-sell these new services.

The vision of Alakh Pandey Sir is clear: "Wherever there is an internet connection and a student, PhysicsWallah should have a presence".

Challenges Setbacks & Learnings

Apart from the bull cases for the PhysicsWallah brand, the Alakh Pandey journey has a bear case too. This rests on the recent losses. However, these are narrowing and appear to be strategic investments in growth. There is also intense competition from established offline players.

PhysicsWallah can learn from its rivals like Allen, who have recently struggled with their own expansion attempts, declining profitability, and a growing student preference for the affordable hybrid models that PhysicsWallah has perfected.

Vision for The Future Of Indian Edtech

This PhysicsWallah IPO is a test case for a new model of Indian education: accessible, affordable, and scalable. The numbers are impressive.

• Over 41,500 of its students have qualified for JEE Advanced in 2024
  
• Over 20,000 qualified for NEET in 2023.
  

The resilience of PhysicsWallah in a sector affected by the "funding winter" is its greatest strength. The Alakh Pandey journey has demonstrated how credibility and execution can create long-term value. Finally, the IPO will be the ultimate test of whether the public market would believe this founder-driven trust to translate into sustained shareholder value.

Sources:

Outlook Business
News 18
Stakehub
Stakehub
The Hindu BL
Stakehub
The Hindu BL
Stakehub