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PhysicsWallah IPO: Edtech unicorn PhysicsWallah on Thursday fixed a price band of Rs 103–Rs 109 per share for its upcoming initial public offering (IPO), aiming for a valuation of over Rs 31,500 crore at the upper end.

The company’s Rs 3,480 crore maiden public offering will open on November 11 and conclude on November 13, with anchor investors allocated shares on November 10, according to its public announcement.

The upcoming IPO comprises a fresh issue of equity shares worth Rs 3,100 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of shares aggregating up to Rs 380 crore by promoters.

Promoters Alakh Pandey and Prateek Maheshwari will each offload shares worth Rs 190 crore through the OFS. At present, both hold 40.31 per cent stake each in the company. Pandey and Maheshwari each hold 105.12 crore shares, translating to a 40.31 per cent stake apiece in the company.

At the top price band of Rs 109 per share, their individual stakes are valued at Rs 11,458 crore, or about $1.29 billion each. According to the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP), their acquisition cost for these shares is negligible.

Pandey, the company’s chief executive officer and whole-time director, is known for his unconventional journey. Despite not holding a formal higher education degree, having completed higher secondary education from Bishop Johnson Education School and College, Prayagraj, he has amassed over five years of experience in the education technology sector.

Maheshwari, also a whole-time director, joined PhysicsWallah on July 1, 2020, and leads its strategy and innovation initiatives.

A mechanical engineering graduate from the Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, Maheshwari previously worked with Caterpillar India Pvt Ltd and brings over a decade of edtech experience.

Among institutional investors, WestBridge AIF holds 16.8 crore shares or 6.4 per cent stake, valued at Rs 1,820 crore.

Hornbill Capital Partners owns 11.52 crore shares or 4.41 per cent, valued at Rs 1,255 crore, while Lightspeed Opportunity Fund’s 4.66 crore shares are worth Rs 509 crore.

Setu AIF Trust holds 3.64 crore shares, valued at Rs 396 crore. The DRHP does not disclose the weighted average acquisition cost for these investors.

The Noida-based company filed draft papers in March with Sebi for an IPO through a confidential pre-filing route and had received the market regulator’s approval in July. Following this, the company filed an updated DRHP in September before filing an RHP.

Of the fresh issue proceeds, PhysicsWallah said Rs 460.5 crore will go towards fit-outs of new offline and hybrid centres, and Rs 548.3 crore will be used for lease payments of existing centres.

It will also invest Rs 47.2 crore in its subsidiary Xylem Learning, including Rs 31.6 crore for new centres and Rs 15.5 crore for lease payments and hostels.

A further Rs 33.7 crore will be directed to Utkarsh Classes & Edutech for lease payments of its centres.

Additionally, Rs 200.1 crore is earmarked for server and cloud infrastructure, Rs 710 crore for marketing initiatives, and Rs 26.5 crore for acquiring an additional stake in Utkarsh Classes.

PhysicsWallah offers test preparation courses for competitive exams focusing on JEE, NEET, GATE and UPSC, along with upskilling programs, delivered through online platforms (YouTube, website, and apps), tech-enabled offline centres, and hybrid centres that combine online teaching with in-person support.

Its main YouTube channel, Physics Wallah–Alakh Pandey, had about 13.7 million subscribers as of July 15, 2025, while its overall YouTube network had 98.8 million subscribers by June 30, 2025, growing at a CAGR of 41.8 per cent between FY23 and FY25.

The company, backed by WestBridge Capital, Hornbill, and GSV Ventures, narrowed its losses to Rs 243 crore in FY25 from Rs 1,131 crore in FY24. Revenue rose to Rs 2,887 crore from Rs 1,941 crore in the same period.

According to the company, 75 per cent of the issue size has been reserved for qualified institutional buyers, 15 per cent for non-institutional investors and the remaining 10 per cent for retail investors.

PhysicsWallah will make its stock market debut on November 18.

Anubhav Maurya is a Senior Sub-Editor at Zee Business, focusing on the stock market, personal finance, corporate news, and related sectors.

He has previously worked wi