PhysicsWallah targets opening 70 offline centres each year: CFO Sachdeva

Ed-tech firm plans to expand into more categories, eyes markets in South India

Education technology (edtech) company Physics Wallah, which recently made its D-Street debut, is accelerating its offline expansion and aims to open nearly 70 physical centres each financial year, targeting a network of about 200 new centres by 2028-29.

 

In an exclusive conversation with Business Standard, the company’s Chief Financial Officer Amit Sachdeva said, “We will open nearly 70 centres each year from here on. Over the next three years, we want to open around 200 centres. Each centre requires ₹2–2.5 crore in capital expenditure.”

 

In line with these capital requirements, the company had earlier said that it plans to deploy ₹460 crore of its initial public offering (IPO) proceeds for opening new offline and hybrid centres. Including IPO proceeds of nearly ₹3,480 crore, the company’s current cash balance exceeds ₹5,500 crore.

 

 

Physics Wallah currently operates nearly 300 offline centres. With 200 new centres, its physical footprint is expected to reach 500 centres within three years.

 

Post-IPO, the company also plans to penetrate non-Hindi-speaking regions, particularly the southern states. “One of the reasons for our IPO was to build a trustworthy brand across India. We are strong in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, parts of Maharashtra, and Bihar. The IPO process has given us significant confidence as a national brand. We are now entering southern states and have already opened centres there,” Sachdeva noted.

 

He added that of the roughly 3.5 million students enrolled until September last year, 85–90 per cent were from northern states. “We aim for at least 20 per cent of enrolments to come from southern states. Over the next 18–24 months, we want to become a significant player there, with multiple innovations underway,” he said.

 

The Noida-headquartered company is launching operations in nine Indian languages this year. One of its subsidiaries, Xylem Learning, is also expanding in Kerala and Karnataka. For investment in Xylem, which operates 15–20 centres in Kerala, the edtech firm has set aside ₹4.2 crore from its IPO proceeds.

 

Physics Wallah is also entering and strengthening newer examination categories, including the Union Public Service Commission and chartered accountancy, and plans to open additional centres to cater to these and other state-specific examinations.