PhysicsWallah’s meteoric rise has propelled its founder, Alakh Pandey, into the Hurun India Rich List 2025 with a staggering 223% increase in wealth, pushing his net worth to ₹14,510 crore and placing him ahead of cultural icons like Shah Rukh Khan. This leap reflects not just personal achievement but also the remarkable journey of PhysicsWallah from a scrappy YouTube channel to a profitable edtech unicorn with pan-India and global operations.
Hurun India Rich List 2025: Startup Founders Shine
The latest Hurun India Rich List underscores the deep impact of India’s startup ecosystem on wealth creation:
- Mukesh Ambani tops the list, but startup founders like Aravind Srinivas (Perplexity AI, ₹21,900 crore net worth), Alakh Pandey and Prateek Maheshwari (PhysicsWallah, ₹14,510 crore each), Vidit Aatrey (Meesho, ₹4,500 crore) feature as young powerhouses.
- The 2025 report saw India add 58 new billionaires, with over 97 startup founders making the cut, highlighting edtech and AI as the engines of recent wealth growth.
- Bollywood’s Shah Rukh Khan also made his debut as a billionaire, but was outpaced by Pandey and other tech entrepreneurs.
PhysicsWallah’s IPO Momentum
PhysicsWallah is moving full steam ahead on its IPO journey:
- The company has filed updated draft papers with SEBI to raise ₹3,820 crore through its public offering, including a ₹3,100 crore fresh issue and a ₹720 crore offer-for-sale by Alakh Pandey and Prateek Maheshwari.
- IPO proceeds will fund expansion of offline/hybrid centers, lease obligations, investments in subsidiaries, infrastructure, and marketing.
- Having already received SEBI clearance for its confidential pre-filing earlier this summer, the IPO is now one of the most awaited new listings in India’s tech sector.
Read this: PhysicsWallah Failed to Protect Students? — Zerodha Flags Unique Concerns in PW IPO Papers
Financial Trajectory and Performance
PhysicsWallah has seen a sharp financial turnaround:
- FY25 consolidated net loss narrowed dramatically to ₹243 crore from ₹1,131 crore in FY24, while operating revenue surged nearly 49% to ₹2,887 crore (up from ₹1,941 crore in FY24).
- The company turned EBITDA positive in FY25, with EBITDA of ₹193.2 crore and margins at 6.7% (against a negative margin the prior year).
- Income streams are well diversified, with robust growth in offline and hybrid channels, and improved ARPU in offline offerings.
PhysicsWallah has acquired a 40% stake in UPSC coaching institute Sarrthi IAS, valuing the Delhi-based firm at around ₹250 crore. This deal strengthens PW’s footprint in the ₹8,000-cr UPSC prep market, helping it compete with leaders like Drishti IAS and Vision IAS, and comes just as PW gears up to list publicly with SEBI’s approval for a ₹4,600-crore IPO at a $3.7-billion valuation.
Alakh Pandey: Early Life and Struggles
Alakh Pandey’s story is rooted in adversity and grit:
- Born in 1991 in Prayagraj (Allahabad), Uttar Pradesh, into a lower-middle-class family, Pandey faced severe financial hardship in childhood—at one point, his family even sold their home to get by.
- He began tutoring classmates for extra income as early as class six and worked at coaching centers during high school.
- Pandey cracked state engineering entrance exams and entered HBTI Kanpur, but left college in his fourth year due to disenchantment and financial necessity.
- Returning home, Pandey doubled down on his love for teaching, starting the “Physics Wallah” YouTube channel in 2014—transforming it into a national movement and, eventually, India’s leading homegrown edtech platform.
Impact and Outlook
From personal struggle to iconic success, Alakh Pandey’s journey is now a case study at top global institutes. With a strong, profitable business model, minimized losses, and continued revenue growth—alongside an impending IPO—PhysicsWallah and its founder epitomize the new wave of Indian tech entrepreneurship, showing how adversity, innovation, and relentless grit can create immense value for millions of students and investors alike
