PhysicsWallah’s stellar IPO resets the edtech narrative

The firm, which raised %3,100 crore via public offer, listed at 33% premium to the IPO price

- Salman S.H.

Alakh Pandey, chief executive officer, PhysicsWallah

(PHYSICSWALLAH/YOUTUBE)

PhysicsWallah Ltd's stellar listing is likely to set the tone for the wider edtech sector over the next few quarters, bringing back funding to online learning startups starved of capital for two to three years, said investors, founders and industry experts.

The Westbridge Capital-backed company, which raised ₹3,100 crore in its initial public offering, listed at a 33% premium to its IPO price on Tuesday, and its shares closed at a valuation of ₹44,000 crore (about $5 billion) on the first trading day. The stock opened at ₹145 on the National Stock Exchange and ₹143.90 on the BSE compared with the issue price of ₹109 per share.

Siddharth Pai, founding partner at 3one4 Capital, sees PhysicsWallah’s market debut as a validation of the original edtech bet. He argues the blowups at Byju’s and Unacademy were due to company-specific choices, not by some fatal flaw in the broader thesis.