The first round of layoffs at the unicorn Edtech business Physicwallah, tagged last year, occurred when roughly 120 employees were let go following a performance evaluation.
Entrackr was the first to disclose the news, stating that the layoffs resulted from a company-wide cost-cutting initiative.
“At PW, we regularly assess performance through mid-term and end-term cycles. For the cycle ending in October, less than 0.8 percent of our workforce, ranging from 70 to 120 individuals with performance concerns—may be asked to transition…,” said Satish Khengre, CHRO, PW, in a statement.
In the last two years, a protracted financing freeze has forced the closure of over 10,000 Indian edtech enterprises, including Teachmint, Byju’s, Unacademy, Vedantu, and Cuemath. Physicswallah is the latest in this trend.
Founded in 2020, the edtech unicorn is led by popular YouTube teacher Alakh Pandey. In June of last year, the company raised $100 million from GSV Ventures and WestBridge Capital, which is valued at $1.1 billion.
It became India’s most prominent and only profitable edtech start-up in FY22 (2021–2022) after reporting a ten-fold increase in operational revenue to Rs 232.5 crore and a profit of around Rs 100 crore.
According to last year Pandey’s interview, the business anticipates its revenue to exceed Rs 1,200 crore in FY23, with an income before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) margin of 40–45 percent.
In January of this year, the corporation said it intends to hire 2,500 people in various roles throughout that quarter.
“…Our primary focus remains on fostering a dynamic, high-performing team. We plan to hire an additional 1,000 employees in the next six months, reinforcing our commitment to growth. We deeply value the dedication of our existing employees and recognize their integral role in shaping the future of education technology,” added Khengre.
The company has ventured into undergraduate residential engineering programs to increase its stake in the upskilling market.
