PhysicsWallah’s milestone funding; How to build your unicorn

Hello,

An education can cost an arm and a leg.

At least, according to investment firm AJVC’s founder Aviral Bhatnagar, who argued in a viral LinkedIn post that many families prioritise their kids’ foreign education at the expense of their retirement savings. But do they look at it as a return on investment?

A recent HSBC report found that while 78% of Indian parents want their kids to study abroad, only 53% have an education savings plan.

Be it education or advertisements, money does run the world.

YouTube has rolled out a ‘pause ads’ feature that will play ads when users pause a video. The Google arm has been testing this feature since last year.

Some users don’t seem to be rooting for this “less interruptive” experience, but the Supreme Court of India definitely isn’t a fan of the streaming site either. The apex court’s channel was hacked in a potential security breach and the hackers posted videos promoting the cryptocurrency XRP. 

Governments may not be a fan of cryptocurrencies but some ‘crypto bros’ want to replace governments with, what they call, a network state—which builds on the idea of special economic zones. One such idea is building “Praxis”,  a new city-state, somewhere on the Mediterranean coast, that would be governed on the blockchain.

As of now, the city exists mainly on the internet.

But does the grander idea of cryptocurrencies—remaking the financial system away from government control—have any weight in history? Turns out, history is littered with mighty, rebellious currencies.

A paper by economists from the London School of Economics, the University of Manchester, and the US Federal Reserve found that cryptocurrencies are in a Catch-22 situation with monetary policies. Even when coins were made out of gold or silver, governments fiddled with their weight and purity. 

It found that while money in the future may shed all physical manifestations, its effects will rarely be neutral.

But before you make a bank run, check out the speaker lineup at TechSparks Bengaluru, which is less than a week away!

From ISRO Chairman Dr S Somnath to Ola Electric Founder Bhavish Aggarwal, hear from industry stalwarts what it will take to build Bharat 3.0.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• PhysicsWallah’s milestone funding
• How to build your unicorn

Here’s your trivia for today: What was skateboarding initially called when it originated in the US in the 1950s?

Funding

PhysicsWallah’s milestone funding

The edtech industry is facing a challenging time, marked by waning investor interest and reduced demand for online learning in the aftermath of the pandemic.

Amid this, Alakh Pandey-led edtech unicorn PhysicsWallah (PW) has bagged $210 million in a Series B funding round led by investment firm Hornbill Capital, with a sizable participation from venture capital firm Lightspeed Venture Partners.

Scaling operations: 

• With the latest funding round, PW’s post-money valuation has soared to $2.8 billion, making it the third-most valued edtech firm, trailing only Unacademy ($3.4 billion) and Eruditus ($3.2 billion), based on their last valuations.
• PW will use the funds for market consolidation, with the potential for “one large deal” in the next 12 months, according to Co-founder Prateek Maheshwari.
• PW, which initially focused on test-prep, has rapidly diversified its educational offerings to encompass everything, from school education to skills training. It has also acquired firms like PrepOnline and Altis Vortex to enhance its NEET, GATE, and related categories.

Top Funding Deals of the Week

Startup:  Physics Wallah 

Amount: $210M 

Round: Series B

Startup: Nazara Technologies

Amount: Rs 900 Cr

Round: Preferential equity issue

Startup: Everest Fleet

Amount: $30M

Round: Series C

Investor

How to build your unicorn

In the world of startups, conversations often revolve around growth, funding, and market debut strategies. Yet culture—the unseen force behind every thriving organisation—often remains neglected until it’s too late.’

According to Amit Somani and Shripati Acharya, Partners at Prime Venture Partners, culture starts forming in the very first months of a startup’s journey, long before any formal values are put down on paper—whether it’s the way decisions are made, how teams are built, or how conflicts are resolved.

Shaping startup culture:

• A successful startup’s culture involves the mindset and processes of how things get done even when the leadership isn’t in the room, according to Somani. Acharya believes that startups need to be deliberate about this from the start.
• While trust is essential, especially in the early, turbulent days of a startup, a professional relationship must be established alongside personal bonds, both partners believe.
• Equity distribution is another minefield that founders often step into without adequate preparation. Acharya emphasises that equity should be reflective of the contribution each founder is expected to make, both now and in the future.

News & updates

• Intern to CEO: Elliott Hill is set to become Nike’s new CEO on October 14, succeeding John Donahoe as the head of the iconic sneaker and sportswear company. A longtime employee of Nike, Hill faces the challenge of boosting declining sales and reinvigorating consumer enthusiasm for the brand.
• AI phone: Apple is giving more people the chance to test a software update that will implant artificial intelligence into its virtual assistant Siri and automate a variety of tedious tasks on the latest iPhone. The free update was made available Thursday to an audience that has signed up to test Apple’s software.
• CO2 cost: Multilateral development banks announced that their global climate finance reached a record high of $125 billion in 2023. The combined total last year from institutions, including the Asian Development Bank, is more than double the amount provided in 2019.

What was skateboarding initially called when it originated in the US in the 1950s?

Answer: Sidewalk surfing.

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