PhysicsWallah's Alakh AI: Revolutionising ed-tech in India

In an era where technology is reshaping every facet of life, education is no exception. PhysicsWallah, India’s rapidly growing ed-tech unicorn, is harnessing the power of artificial intelligence to bridge the educational divide across the country.

By introducing AI-powered tools designed to support students in even the most remote corners of India, the company is levelling the playing field for millions.

Their latest suite of AI products—built on OpenAI’s GPT-4—has not only sparked excitement but is also transforming how students in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities access and engage with top-quality education. With innovations like 24/7 academic support, personalised learning, and real-time problem-solving, PhysicsWallah is setting a new standard for digital learning in India.

Alakh AI suite: Key AI products for enhanced learning

PhysicsWallah launched its Alakh AI suite at the end of December 2023. This suite gained rapid popularity, reaching 1.5 million users in just two months. Here’s a closer look at the major tools in the suite:

AI Guru

• A 24/7 academic companion.
• Helps students with coursework, answering questions in real time.
• Offers personalised learning experiences.
• Can manage both academic and non-academic queries, enabling teachers to focus more on direct student engagement.
• Supports multiple modes of input—text, voice, and images.
• Can even pinpoint timestamps in lecture videos where student queries are relevant.

Sahayak

• Adaptive learning tool designed for practice, revision, and clearing backlogs.
• Creates personalised study plans based on students' profiles and exam prep needs.
• Includes a mix of videos and an extensive question bank for focused learning.

NCERT Pitara

• Uses generative AI to create questions from NCERT textbooks.
• Offers multiple formats: multiple-choice, single-choice, and fill-in-the-blank questions.
• A valuable resource for exam preparation.

New features: Doubt engine & AI grader for UPSC aspirants

PhysicsWallah has recently added new AI-powered features to further assist students, particularly those preparing for competitive exams:

Doubt engine

It resolves 85% of student questions in real time, a significant upgrade from the earlier 10-hour turnaround.

Academic doubts are categorised into:

• Contextual doubts (which are easier to analyse and respond to).
• Non-contextual doubts (which require more effort due to uncertainty around the student's thought process).

AI grader

This tool is specifically designed for UPSC aspirants submitting subjective answers. It can handle various handwriting styles and recognise diagrams, making grading of subjective exams more efficient.

Tech behind PhysicsWallah’s AI solutions

PhysicsWallah's AI tools are built using advanced technologies such as:

• GPT-4 from OpenAI for generative AI.
• RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) architecture for contextual responses.
• Astra DB Vector and LangChain for quick multimodal bot development (built in 55 days).
• Ongoing data updates by Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), ensuring real-time current affairs and question banks are included in the system.

PhysicsWallah is aware of the limitations of large language models (LLMs), particularly in reasoning tasks and math problems. While basic algebra and everyday calculations work well, the company acknowledges that advanced reasoning remains a challenge.

Alakh AI’s competitive landscape

Alakh AI is making strides in AI-driven education, but it’s not alone. Khan Academy has teamed up with OpenAI to launch Khanmigo, an AI-powered teaching assistant. Former OpenAI co-founder Andrej Karpathy has also entered the ed-tech space with Eureka Labs.

Despite the competition, PhysicsWallah’s CTPO Vineet Govil emphasises their operational expertise and the superior quality of their AI models. This confidence is reflected in the company’s ongoing growth, with recent reports suggesting a $150 million funding round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners.

With its innovative use of AI, the company is making education more inclusive, personalised, and accessible, and has the potential to reshape the future of Indian education.