AI To Cost Efficiencies: PhysicsWallah Co-Founder Outlines Path To Profitability Post Strong Listing
PhysicsWallah doesn't need to increase the price of its products to achieve growth, co-founder Prateek Maheshwari underlined.
Discussing the timeline and game plan for turning profitable, Prateek Maheshwari, the co-founder of newly listed company PhysicsWallah told NDTV Profit that he expects net profitability in less than 12 months.
Expanding on the same he stated that as a new-age company which is merely five years old, there is a lot of leverage in terms of marketing costs and tech costs.
According to Maheshwari, the company has not only turned Ebitda positive by increasing their Ebitda almost four times in just two years, it has also cut down on people costs by honing the artificial intelligence space via tech automations.
He said, "A lot of leverages are coming because of the tech automation. AI is helping us a lot. AI is solving doubts for the student."
The co-founder added that while the attrition rate might not go up because of AI, the rate at which new hirings are done and new employees are added will most likely decline in the current scenario. Currently, the company has a total of 18,000 employees, many of whom are working in the offline centre.
Underscoring the low cost model of their company, the co-founder added that they need not increase the price of their products to achieve growth.
He explained how they have been able to nudge the company towards growth by offering voluntary value-added experiences to students such as AI doubt-solver and access to past videos.
Making education accessible to every student in the country was highlighted by Maheshwari as being the mission and vision of the company, and he added that, "If core values are intact, the profitability is the outcome of the goodness we deliver in the classroom."
PhysicsWallah's initial public offer made a blockbuster listing on the exchanges on Wednesday at Rs 145, a 33.03% premium over its issue price of Rs 109 apiece.
On the BSE, the stock listed at Rs 143.10 apiece, marking a premium of 31.28%.
PhysicsWallah's initial public offering was aimed at raising up to Rs 3,100 crore through a fresh issue, along with co-founders Alakh Pandey and Prateek Maheshwari selling equity worth Rs 380 crore via an offer-for-sale. Both founders cumulatively owned over 80% stake.
