PhysicsWallah forays into publishing, govt job prep segments with 2 new buys

PhysicsWallah co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Alakh Pandey

India’s newest edtech unicorn PhysicsWallah has made forays into book publishing and government job preparation segments by buying two new startups. The acquisitions come at a time when demand for online learning is stagnating, compelling edtech firms to scramble for different revenue streams.

The company, backed by GSV Ventures, will be buying PrepOnline, an online learning platform for NEET, board exams, and state-level government exams preparation and Altis Vortex, a publisher of NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training)-based books for class 11, 12, NEET and CUET-UG (Central Universities Entrance Test for undergraduation) exam preparations, it said in a statement on October 13.

PhysicsWallah did not disclose the value of the transactions but said that the acquisitions will be a mix of cash and stock deals. PhysicsWallah has also absorbed 35 employees including 18 teachers from PrepOnline and 45 employees from Altis Vortex, the company said.

The acquisitions will help PhysicsWallah to expand to CUET and state-level government exams segments that have seen limited penetration by edtech companies. PhysicsWallah said that PrepOnline has a paid user base of 42,000.

Altis Vortex, meanwhile, claims to have published over 150 books and the company will be assimilating with PhysicsWallah’s editorial team to create relevant study materials resonating with students’ current demands for PhysicsWallah publication, the company said.

PhysicsWallah with Altis Vortex will cover exams such as GATE, NDA, UPSC, SSC, NEET PG, and CUET, among others. The two companies will also strengthen PhysicsWallah’s other domains, including retail marketing, e-commerce sales, and printing, PhysicsWallah said.

“We are confident that their expertise and dedication will make quality education more accessible and affordable for students preparing for government jobs,” said Alakh Pandey, Founder, and CEO, PhysicsWallah.

PrepOnline was founded by Vivek Gaur, Manish Kumar, and Anurag Pareek, while Altis Vortex was founded by Gaur and Kumar. Gaur will be joining PhysicsWallah as Chief of Growth and Kumar will join the startup as Chief of Projects.

PhysicsWallah also said that it will be launching another offline tuition center in Jaipur and for the same, the company has appointed Anurag Pareek as the Head of Academics. With PrepOnline and Altis Vortex, PhysicsWallah has acquired three companies since it became a unicorn in June this year. In August, the company had acquihired edtech startup FreeCo to enhance its existing services, the company said.

PhysicsWallah also said that it plans to expand more categories and will be launching more YouTube channels to scale its accessibility. Interestingly SoftBank-backed Unacademy also said that it will be launching 50 more YouTube channels in September.

PhysicsWallah’s acquisitions and expansion plans come at a time when edtech companies, including some of the biggest and most valued, have seen demand for their services moderating with schools, colleges and Physical tuition centers reopening. On October 12, Byju’s announced 2,500 layoffs across departments, the highest by any startup in India. Lightspeed-backed Front Row also said that it let go of 75 percent of its employees.