Edtech unicorn PhysicsWallah (PW) has filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to raise ₹3,820 crore through an initial public offering (IPO), marking one of the most anticipated public listings in the education technology sector.
The move comes as the company pivots towards offline learning and hybrid coaching to significantly reshape its revenue profile. PW’s operating revenue surged nearly 49 per cent year-on-year to ₹2,887 crore in FY25, compared with ₹1,941 crore in FY24, according to its restated consolidated financial statements in the DRHP.
Coaching services remained the company’s growth engine, contributing ₹2,498.5 crore in FY25. Within this, online coaching revenue rose 45.5 per cent to ₹1,404 crore, while offline coaching – a channel PW only entered in FY23 – expanded 45.7 per cent to ₹1,352 crore. Offline learning now accounts for nearly 47 per cent of the topline, supported by steady gains in average revenue per user (ARPU), which climbed from ₹34,467 in FY23 to ₹40,405 in FY25.
Other revenue streams also expanded, with product sales jumping 74 per cent to ₹259 crore and hostel and transport fees adding ₹88 crore. India remained PW’s core market, contributing 98.75 per cent of total operating revenue, while international markets – Dubai and the US – together accounted for ₹36 crore.
PW’s rapid offline expansion has been underpinned by an equally strong scale-up in manpower. The company employed 5,096 faculty members in FY25, up 40 per cent from 3,654 a year earlier. Of these, 4,207 were permanent teachers, while 889 were contractual hires.
On the cost side, expenses remained broadly flat at ₹3,265 crore in FY25 versus ₹3,279 crore in FY24, even as salary costs rose 28 per cent to ₹1,426 crore to support the larger workforce. Marketing spends stood at ₹448 crore, while depreciation costs were ₹366 crore.
This discipline helped PW cut its losses sharply. The company’s net burn fell 78.5 per cent to ₹243 crore in FY25 from ₹1,131 crore in FY24. More significantly, it turned EBITDA positive at ₹192.5 crore, with a margin of 6.33 per cent.
According to the DRHP, Co-founders Alakh Pandey and Prateek Boob hold 40.35 per cent each in the company. Among institutional investors, WestBridge Capital owns 7.8 per cent, Hornbill Capital 4.42 per cent, GSV Ventures 2.85 per cent and Lightspeed 1.79 per cent.
The IPO will be closely watched as a bellwether for Indian edtech, at a time when the sector is consolidating around hybrid and offline-first models.