Self-reliant edtech startup PhysicsWallah has raised $100 million at a unicorn valuation from WestBridge Capital and GSV Ventures as part of its Series A funding round, the company said in a June 7 statement.

PhysicsWallah raised funding at a $1.1 billion valuation, making it the 101st unicorn company in India, the company said. PhysicsWallah has become the second company to join the coveted unicorn club since April this year and the 11th from April to June 2021.

PhysicsWallah said it plans to use the funds for business expansion, branding, opening more offline learning centres and launching more courses, the company added.

PhysicsWallah claims to have 5.2 million Google Playstore downloads and 6.9 million subscribers on YouTube. The company also claims that in 2020 and 2021, more than 10,000 students have passed competitive exams such as NEET and JEE (Medical and Engineering Entrance Examination). At least six medical schools and one in 10 engineering schools have a student among their alumni, PhysicsWallah said. The company claims to offer the most affordable edtech packages in India.

PhysicsWallah said it currently has 1,900 employees, including 500 teachers and 100 technicians. The company also has 200 associate professors answering student questions and another 200 professionals producing exam questions and term papers.

PhysicsWallah said it is looking to launch educational content in nine vernacular languages, including Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Odia, Malayalam and Kannada. The company says it aims to connect with 250 million students by 2025. PhysicsWallah will also open 20 offline tutoring classrooms in India called Pathshala, the company said. The company said that PW had established more than 20 centres in 18 cities, with more than 10,000 students enrolled in the 2022-2023 program.

The decline in demand for technology-based educational solutions in India’s edtech industry has slowed markedly due to the reopening of schools, colleges and sports tutoring centres, and PhysicsWallah’s expansion plans are in place.

In addition, funds are drying up in the Indian startup ecosystem amid a slowdown in global financial markets, forcing companies to cut jobs, shut down non-core verticals and rationalize spending on advertising and marketing.

However, the funding winter appears to have hit edtech startups the hardest, which have seen high growth over the past two years. Edtech companies have cut more than 3,700 jobs since early 2022.