PhysicsWallah Targets UPSC Market with Strategic Acquisitions in Test-Prep Sector

In an apparent bid to expand its footprint in India’s highly competitive civil services coaching space, edtech unicorn PhysicsWallah (PW) is said to be looking to acquire established UPSC coaching institutes. It (move) reflects the company’s strategy to break into the lucrative Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) test preparation market that is home to traditional players and fast-growing demand for hybrid learning models.

Expansion Through Acquisitions

As sources have confirmed the development, PW is reportedly holding talks with seven to eight of UPSC coaching institutes, some of the reputed names being Chaitanya Academy, Drishti IAS and Rau’s IAS Study Circle. The company is looking to buy these assets to speed up the process of how its offerings for civil services aspirants scale.

The company’s funding round earlier this year of $210 million led by Hornbill Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners will likely finance the acquisitions, and the acquisitions themselves will most likely be structured with performance-linked payouts in tranches. Early in 2025 it had announced this funding, which priced the company at $2.8 billion.

From JEE & NEET to UPSC

The two men, Alakh Pandey and Prateek Maheshwari, started PhysicsWallah, which later became known for providing coaching for engineering (JEE) and medical (NEET) entrance exams at an affordable cost. Since then, the company has broadened its portfolio to cover over three dozen examinations of which chartered accountancy is a recent focus area.

Currently, the company has more than 150 offline Vidyapeeth centers in the country and is planning to diversify further at the geographical as well as academic level through inhouse content as well as acquisitions from external sources.

IPO Plans in Motion

Backed by this move, PhysicsWallah has also confidentially filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI with an intention to get listed. The company is said to aim to raise ₹4,000 crore via its IPO and be valued in the range of ₹35,000–₹40,000 crore.

Proceeds of the IPO, as per insiders, will be used to strengthen its offline infrastructure, acquire complementary assets, and invest in new age learning technologies such as generative AI and adaptive learning.

Not PhysicsWallah’s First Acquisition Spree

There are several mergers and acquisitions that PhysicsWallah carried out over the past two years, making this one an extension to the long list of strategic acquisitions. Notable deals include:

• FreeCo – A doubt-clearing edtech platform.
• PrepOnline – A NEET-focused content platform.
• Altis Vortex – A leading publisher of competitive exam books.
• Being an upskilling and technology learning platform – iNeuron.ai.

Through these acquisitions, the company has entered new verticals, broadened its tech stack and increased its learner base, in particular, of students looking to acquire reasonably priced tech enabled education alternatives to traditional coaching.

Why UPSC?

In terms of the UPSC market in India, it belongs to the illustrious top 1% of the aspiration – and is one of the most prestigious aspirational segments in education with over 1 million applicants per year. It is a long preparation cycle, needs detailed content which should be covered in multiple test series; and learning requires personalized mentoring—all of this makes it into a profitable but intimidating space for an edtech platform.

PW looks to jump the gun on the content creation process by acquiring reputed brands boasting a proven pedagogy and the record of results that will make it credible from day one.

Legacy matters in the ecosystem that PhysicsWallah is entering. The acquisition of an institute such as Drishti IAS or Rau’s would give them a serious edge,” said an industry analyst tracking the edtech sector.

Hybrid Learning the Way Forward

The strategy of PW, which encompasses both online and offline education, is also in line with the preference change by learners towards hybrid learning with the dominance post-pandemic. Now students want flexible learning, 24/7 doubt solving, personalized progress reports at scale, and a mentor at scale (friendly + available) – things legacy, offline only players are struggling to offer.

UPSC aspirants who are in search of a quality answer with the premium pricing can be a unique proposition for the company, as a combination of the acquired pedagogical experience and their tech-first infrastructure.

Further Ahead

Cowabunga’s business response to the challenges it faced stands out in the first phase dominated by the acquisitions of Aakash Institute and PLUTUS IAS by PhysicsWallah, which indicates that it has an aggressive growth strategy to disrupt every last corner of Indian test preparation. PW is very well placed with new capital, brand momentum and tech capabilities to take on incumbents in the civil services domain.

It comes as India’s edtech sector consolidates and works towards first public market entries, with PhysicsWallah’s evolution providing a textbook example of local innovation that grows to global scale with maximum efficiency.