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Indian edtech startup Physics Wallah ended its first day as a public company on a high, with its shares closing 44% higher than they were listed for, indicating that the country\u2019s edtech sector may still recover after years of gloom.<\/p>\n
Priced at \u20b9109, the company\u2019s shares climbed as high as \u20b9161.99 before closing at \u20b9156.49, valuing it at \u20b9448 billion (around $5 billion).\u00a0That\u2019s well above its listing valuation of \u20b9315 billion (approximately $3.6 billion), and roughly 79% higher than its last private valuation of $2.8 billion<\/a> in September 2024.<\/p>\n Physics Wallah raised \u20b934.8 billion (around $393 million) in the IPO. Of this, \u20b931 billion (approximately $350.1 million) was through a fresh issue of shares, while \u20b93.8 billion (roughly $42.9 million) worth of shares were sold by co-founders Alakh Pandey and Prateek Boob, who together held about 80% of the company before the listing.<\/p>\n The strong IPO highlights the company\u2019s remarkable growth arc since its humble beginnings as a YouTube channel run by Pandey in 2016. It now stands out in an industry otherwise reeling from layoffs, a funding drought, and the unraveling of once-high-flying rival Byju\u2019s. Today, the company offers test-preparation and upskilling courses via its website, apps, and offline centers.<\/p>\n The company\u2019s rise comes as its larger rivals struggle to operate. Byju\u2019s, once India\u2019s most valuable startup at $22 billion<\/a>, was engulfed<\/a> in a corporate-governance crisis, has been fighting legal battles with lenders<\/a>, and is dealing with a severe cash crunch that has forced mass layoffs<\/a>. The Bengaluru-based startup is currently undergoing insolvency proceedings<\/a> in both India and the U.S.<\/p>\n Unacademy, another high-profile edtech, has also sharply scaled back operations and cut staff<\/a>, and is reported to be in talks to be acquired by upskilling platform UpGrad for $300 to $400 million<\/a> \u2014 a steep decline from its $3.44 billion valuation<\/a> in 2021.<\/p>\n