Physicswallah enters into the school business from Haryana’s Gurugram

Edtech Unicorn PhysicsWallah opened its first school in Gurugram as part of its venture into offline elementary education. The Alakh Pandey-led business opened its PW Gurukulam school, offering pre-nursery through class 7 elementary education. Alakh Pandey, the CEO and founder of PhysicsWallah, stated that "all-inclusive education, innovation, and culture are the foundational aspects" of the recently opened school, which will enroll 400 students in its first year of operation.

He continued, "At PW Gurukulam, we strive to provide education that encompasses a wide spectrum and will enable them to choose from limitless possibilities instead of traditional career paths." With an emphasis on subjects like entrepreneurship and financial literacy and supported by programs like Model UN, the school seeks to provide an education that is grounded in practical learning and develops well-rounded pupils. It says it has a zero-tolerance policy for harassment. With over 72 tech-enabled offline Vidyapeeth and 28 hybrid Pathshala centers across India, PW, which was founded in 2020, has grown into 28 test prep categories and a skilling vertical.

Following the pandemic-driven edtech boom, several edtech companies have expressed growing interest in the offline channel. The opening of the physical school strengthens PW's offline portfolio even further. Another unicorn in the edtech space, Unacademy, has seen unprecedented development in its offline business, which has resulted in a spike in revenue and the appointment of many leaders as the company fortifies its physical centers. The startup has been growing over the past few years, starting off as a YouTube channel. Like many other edtech businesses, PW joined the offline market during the lull that followed the end of the Covid-19 outbreak in the edtech sector. PW said in December of last year that its income from operations increased 3.3X year over year (YoY) to INR 771.76 Cr in the financial year 2022–23 (FY23). PW joined the unicorn club in 2022 following a $100 Mn fundraising round. The business did not, however, reveal its annual profit.