MilestoneAug 26, 2026, 19:47 UTC

Lightspeed exits PhysicsWallah with ₹550 crore block deal

What's the deal? Lightspeed Venture Partners has sold its entire stake in Indian edtech firm PhysicsWallah for ₹549.73 crore in a block deal on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Wednesday. Operating through Lightspeed Opportunity Fund II, the Silicon Valley firm offloaded 46,698,120 shares — a 1.61% holding — at ₹117.72 apiece.

Who bought in? A mix of domestic and international institutional investors picked up the shares. ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund led as the primary buyer, taking 2.2 crore shares worth ₹258.98 crore.

Other participants included Citigroup Global Markets Mauritius, entities from Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley Asia Singapore, the New York State Teachers Retirement System, Societe Generale, and Tata AIA Life Insurance.

How is PhysicsWallah performing? The company posted a 24% year-on-year revenue rise to ₹1,054 crore in the first quarter of FY27. Its consolidated net loss narrowed 31% to ₹88 crore, from ₹127 crore a year earlier.

EBITDA also turned positive, at ₹52 crore versus a ₹21 crore loss in Q1 FY26. PhysicsWallah, which sells online and offline education, listed on the NSE and now carries a market capitalisation of ₹36,754 crore.

Why now? Lightspeed held the stake through the end of June 2026 before making its full exit. The block deal was struck at a discount to PhysicsWallah's previous close of ₹121.35.

The signal: Early venture backers are increasingly using India's public markets to realise returns, and the appetite is there — despite the discounted entry, PhysicsWallah's stock climbed as much as 5% on the day and closed at ₹126.13.