Hornbill Orchid in talks to lead PhysicsWallah's $150-million funding at $2.8 billion valuation
PhysicsWallah is in the final stages of closing a $150-million funding round led by Asian hedge fund Hornbill Orchid that will value the Noida-headquartered edtech unicorn at $2.8 billion, over 150% higher than its previous valuation, said people briefed on the developments.
While Hornbill Orchid is likely to invest $70-80 million, a big chunk of the remaining amount is expected to come from venture capital firm Lightspeed that has previously backed edtech rival Byju’s, they said.
“The round is nearly done and Hornbill Orchid is leading it, putting the biggest amount of capital in the round,” one of the persons said.
This will be the second funding round for PhysicsWallah, started by Alakh Pandey, a popular teacher, in 2016 as a YouTube channel providing coaching for engineering and medical entrance tests. In 2022, the profitable edtech firm raised $102 million at a $1.1-billion valuation from WestBridge Capital and GSV Ventures in its maiden funding round.
This is expected to be among the first large primary capital raises in the edtech sector after a long lull.
“Given the state of edtech, this will remain one of the largest deals in edtech for some time even as late-stage activity has begun,” the person quoted above said.
Hornbill Orchid is an India-focused hedge fund anchored by Chinese private equity firm Orchid Asia, and advised by Hornbill Capital, founded by former Avendus Private Equity Investment Advisors CEO Manoj Thakur.
The hedge fund has also invested in listed companies such as Angel One and
