PhysicsWallah Cofounder Alakh Pandey’s Remuneration More Than Halves To INR 4.6 Cr In FY23

Edtech unicorn PhysicsWallah’s cofounder Alakh Pandey received an annual remuneration of INR 4.57 Cr in the financial year ended March 31, 2023.

As per the startup’s filing with MCA, Pandey’s remuneration in FY22 stood at INR 9.6 Cr.

The average founder’s annual salary rose 69.7% to INR 5.77 Cr in FY23 from INR 3.40 Cr in FY22, as per Inc42’s Founder Salaries Tracker FY23. FirstCry’s Supam Maheshwari was the highest earning founder in FY23, taking home INR 200.7 Cr as annual remuneration.

Founded in 2016 by Pandey, PW started as a YouTube channel which prepared students for competitive exams. Later, it went on to become a full-fledged edtech startup and added multiple other courses. The startup has been on an expansion spree for the last couple of years. Later, Prateek Maheshwari joined PW as a cofounder in 2020.

PhysicsWallah (PW), the only profitable edtech unicorn in India, reported a 91% decline in its net profit to INR 8.9 Cr in FY23 from INR 98.2 Cr in the previous fiscal year due to a sharp rise in its expenses.

Its operating revenue increased 234% to INR 779.3 Cr in FY23 from INR 233 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

On the back of its offline expansion and acquisition spree, the startup saw its total expenditure zoom 671% to INR 794.5 Cr in FY23 from INR 103.1 Cr in FY22.

In 2022, the edtech startup achieved unicorn status after securing $100 Mn in its first funding round from Westbridge and GSV Ventures. Since then, it has continuously broadened its services, venturing into offline education and acquiring various startups and companies.

The startup now provides post-graduate programs and an upskilling platform called PW Skills. Additionally, it offers offline and hybrid coaching through its 60 Vidyapeeth centers across India. Recently, it expanded into primary education with the introduction of PW Gurukulam School.