From YouTube Classes To Now Southern India: Alakh Pandey’s PhysicsWallah Expands Its Reach

When Alakh Pandey began teaching physics on YouTube, his audience was largely made up of students looking for explanations they could understand and afford. Over time, those lessons grew into Physics Wallah (PW), an education company that now operates across online, offline and hybrid formats. Today, the next chapter of that journey is unfolding in South India. With a new tech-enabled Vidyapeeth centre in Vijayawada and a partnership with Mohan Babu University near Tirupati, PW is expanding its footprint in Andhra Pradesh. Pandey has also said that the next three to four months would be dedicated to students in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. For students who have followed his lessons for years, the expansion means the possibility of accessing PW’s teaching and preparation support closer to home.

From A YouTube Teacher To A Nationwide Learning Platform

Alakh Pandey started teaching on YouTube in 2014. According to PW’s account of its journey, his free online classes reached more than two million students in 2020, the year Physics Wallah was formally established with co-founder Prateek Maheshwari. The pandemic became a turning point. With physical coaching centres shut, students wanted a more structured way to learn different subjects together. Pandey has said that student feedback encouraged the founders to launch the PW app in June 2020, while affordability remained a key consideration.

The platform’s growth has since extended beyond its original YouTube presence. PW says it now provides educational content through 80 YouTube channels in eight vernacular languages, reaches 98% of India’s pin codes and has more than 10 million paid students on its app. These are company-reported figures.

The journey has also helped build a recognisable student community around Pandey. Online, learners often refer to him as “Alakh Sir”, a form of address that reflects the teacher-student relationship at the heart of his public persona. His lessons, motivational messages and interactions with students have helped make him a familiar figure among many competitive-exam aspirants.

Andhra Pradesh Gets A New PW Vidyapeeth Centre

PW has expanded its offline presence in Andhra Pradesh with the inauguration of its first tech-enabled Vidyapeeth centre in Vijayawada. Located at Benz Circle on M.G. Road, the centre was inaugurated by Amit Singh Rathore, a senior PW executive.

The centre features technology-enabled classrooms and is designed to provide in-person coaching. PW Vidyapeeth centres offer preparation for JEE, NEET and foundation-level examinations, alongside learning support such as recorded lectures, doubt-solving assistance, practice problems and test series.

For students who prefer classroom learning or need regular face-to-face academic support, the centre adds another option alongside online education.

Mohan Babu University Partnership Focuses On Career Readiness

PW’s South India expansion also includes a partnership with Mohan Babu University (MBU), near Tirupati. The university signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Physics Wallah’s career-skills platform, PW Skills, to help students develop practical capabilities alongside their academic learning.

Under the partnership, students are expected to access industry-aligned pathways in Data Analytics and Data Science, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Full Stack Development and Digital Marketing. The programme includes practical projects, exposure to industry tools, expert sessions and structured preparation for aptitude tests, interviews and workplace expectations.

The collaboration is planned across three semesters and will follow a two-teacher mentorship model, combining guidance from industry practitioners with support from MBU faculty.

The partnership reflects a broader focus on helping students connect classroom knowledge with skills that employers seek. It also extends PW’s role beyond entrance-exam preparation into professional and career-oriented learning.

Scholarships And Support For Students Who Need It

Affordability has been a recurring part of PW’s stated mission. In February 2024, the company announced full fee waivers on selected paid batches for 51,000 students from economically weaker backgrounds for the 2023–24 academic session. The Financial Express reported that the value of the waivers exceeded Rs 17 crore, according to the company’s statement.

PW also runs scholarship initiatives through the Physics Wallah National Scholarship cum Admission Test (PWNSAT). Its 2026 materials describe opportunities for eligible students to receive scholarships of up to 100%, subject to the programme’s criteria and selection process.

Beyond its own programmes, the PW Foundation says it sponsors education for deserving students and supports initiatives for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. The company also describes work with the NGO Ek Pehel to support the education of hundreds of students from slum communities in Prayagraj, alongside efforts focused on girls’ access to education.

These initiatives do not remove the wider barriers students face, but they show how scholarships, fee waivers and access to learning resources form part of the organisation’s stated approach.

When The Teacher Stepped Outside The Classroom

Pandey’s public engagement has not been limited to education. In August 2026, he travelled to flood-affected areas of Assam and took part in relief efforts, distributing essential supplies and meeting affected families and students.

The Print reported that he arrived with relief materials and travelled through inundated areas. The coverage also described his visits to students and families facing financial hardship, including an IIT aspirant who had relied on a neighbour’s Wi-Fi to study and a NEET-qualified student whose father worked as a daily-wage labourer.

The Assam visit brought attention to a different side of Pandey’s public work: responding to immediate needs when students and families are dealing with a crisis. The relief activities were reported by media outlets, though the full scale and impact of the assistance would need to be assessed through detailed records.

A Student Community That Sees More Than A Lecture

Pandey’s popularity is also visible in the emotional response he receives from students. In August 2026, he celebrated Raksha Bandhan with girls at the Pardada Pardadi Educational Society in Uttar Pradesh, where videos showed students tying rakhis on his wrist and telling him they followed his content. The Print reported that one student became emotional during the interaction.

Such moments help explain why his public image extends beyond that of an educator delivering lessons. For many students, especially those preparing for competitive examinations, a teacher who speaks directly to their anxieties and ambitions can become an important part of their learning experience.

That connection should not be confused with a guarantee of academic success. Results depend on many factors, including a student’s circumstances, preparation, resources and support. But the scale of the community shows how a digital teacher can build a lasting relationship with learners well beyond a single classroom.

The South India Promise

Pandey’s announcement that PW would focus on students in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala over the next three to four months gives the expansion a regional emphasis. The Vijayawada centre and MBU partnership are two concrete developments within that broader stated plan.

For students in the South, the significance will ultimately depend on what becomes available locally: the range and quality of courses, affordability, teaching support, language accessibility and whether the programmes meet their needs.

Physics Wallah’s journey began with lessons shared online. Its growing network of centres and institutional partnerships now places it in a position to reach students through several learning formats. As it expands further into the South, the challenge will be to turn that reach into meaningful and accessible educational support for the learners it hopes to serve.