PhysicsWallah, an EdTech startup for engineering and medical entrance exams, has announced the acquisition of PrepOnline, an online learning platform for NEET, board exams, and state-level government exams preparation, and Altis Vortex, a publisher of exam preparation books for an undisclosed amount in a mix of cash and stock deal.
With PrepOnline and Altis Vortex acquisition, PhysicsWallah (PW) has forayed into the online competitive exam preparation segment and book publishing domain. It also aims to expand its overall reach and scale its offerings across India.
PrepOnline and Altis Vortex, both started by Vivek Gaur and Manish Kumar in 2019 and 2015, respectively. PrepOnline is an online test preparation platform for exams like NEET and Common University Entrance Test (CUET). Altis, which has published over 150 books, covers exams like Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE), Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), Staff Selection Commission (SSC), NEET, and CUET, among others.
As a part of the transaction, Vivek Gaur has joined PW as Chief of Growth and Manish Kumar as Chief of Projects. Ahead of PW’s plan to launch another offline centre, aka PW Vidyapeeth, in Rajasthan’s Jaipur, months after opening it in Kota, the company has appointed Anurag Pareek as the Head of Academics of the centre.
Commenting on the acquisition, Founder of PhysicsWallah, Alakh Pandey, said:
“We are delighted to bring PrepOnline and Altis Vortex to our PW family. We are confident that their expertise and dedication will make quality education more accessible and affordable for students preparing for government jobs. We look forward to this association and hope to provide world-class education content to our users.”
Close on the heels of its latest acquisition, the company has onboarded a total of 80 employees for its teaching assistance and editorial content expertise, which comprises 35 from PrepOnline and 45 from Altis Vortex.
Co-founded by Alakh Pandey and Prateek Maheshwari, PhysicsWallah (PW) aims to prepare students for engineering and medical entrance examinations. It specializes in giving comprehensive lectures and sessions on YouTube, the PW app, and the website for students aspiring for NEET, JEE Mains. It also has hybrid classes, aka Pathshalas, in 22 cities across India, and has covered over 10 lakh learners.
The startup’s main focus is to make the learning experience as economical as possible for all students. With its affordable courses like Lakshya, Udaan and Arjuna and many others, the firm has been able to provide a platform for lakhs of aspirants. From providing Chemistry, Maths, Physics formula to giving e-books of eminent authors like RD Sharma, RS Aggarwal and Lakhmir Singh, PW focuses on every single student’s need for preparation.
In June 2022, PW became India’s 101st unicorn after raising $100 million in its first round of funding from WestBridge Capital and GSV Ventures at a valuation of $1.1 billion.
The latest deal marks the Noida-based company’s second acquisition. Earlier in August, it acquired Jaipur-based doubt-solving and resource management startup, FreeCo for an undisclosed amount.
