PhysicsWallah Acquires 50% Stake in Xylem In A $61 Mn Deal To Chart South India

Alakh Pandey-led edtech unicorn PhysicsWallah (PW) has acquired a 50% stake in Kerala-based Xylem Learning in an INR 500 Cr (around $61.04 Mn) deal.

The deal, a mix of primary and secondary capital, is aimed at strengthening PhysicsWallah’s presence in the southern market.

PW will invest INR 500 Cr in Xylem over the next three years, and with the incoming funding, PW and Xylem will expand to Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and other southern markets.

Founded in 2019 by Dr Ananthu S, Xylem Learning claims to have more than 3 Mn students across South India via its 30 YouTube channels. The edtech also has 1 Lakh paid students across its various online courses and 30,000 students in its offline/hybrid centres across five Kerala districts. 

Xylem operates ten tuition centres and a school-integrated program across seven schools, while also venturing into commerce and Kerala PSC test preparation.

Alakh Pandey, founder and CEO of PW, said, “This partnership with Xylem Learning fills me with immense excitement and pride. It not only aligns with our shared vision of providing quality education to all but also propels us closer to our strategic goal of becoming the leading education platform in South India.”

Pandey added that the investment will propagate the Xylem model of hybrid learning to states outside Kerala in South India. 

The PW founder added that the Kerala-based edtech startup will require robust team building, content development, technological innovation and expansion in other categories and hybrid centres, which would be achieved via the investment.

PW will also explore consolidation opportunities in South India, Pandey added.

The investment in Xylem comes off the back of the edtech unicorn investment money across business verticals.

At the beginning of May, PW announced it will be opening 50 Vidyapeeth centres with a $10 Mn investment in tech innovation. Next, the edtech unicorn announced investing INR 100 Cr in its UPSC vertical. Finally, PhysicsWallah announced it would invest INR 120 Cr in the next two to three years to shore up PW Skills.

Previously, PW had acquired iNeuron for over $31 Mn for skill development courses in AI, machine learning and data science.

The announcement of Xylem comes at a time when PhysicsWallah is seeking to raise over $250 Mn – $300 Mn at a valuation of $3.5 Bn. The edtech had last raised $100 Mn in June last year, which gave it a unicorn status.

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