Edtech unicorn upGrad raises $210M in latest funding

Edtech unicorn upGradhas raised $210 million from ETS Global, Bodhi Tree, Singapore's Kaizen Management Advisors, as well as Family Office of Bharti Airtel, Narotam Sekhsaria Family Office, and Lakshmi Mittal's Artian Investments, along with existing investors Temasek, IFC, and IIFL.

The Founder Group also invested $12.5 million in this round to maintain over 50% ownership in the edtech startup.

Founded by Ronnie Screwvala, Mayank Kumar, and Phalgun Kompalli in 2015, upGrad spans several segments—from test prep and study abroad to undergrad degrees and campus courses in 250 universities. Its offerings include finance, law, business, and software.

“Higher edtech will be on the rise for the next 4 to 5 decades. upGrad, in the last 12 months, has re-shaped itself to be the most integrated company in this space with career opportunities for the college learners and working professionals from the age of 18 to 58 and will be a lifelong learning partner for millions in the coming years. We have always been very capital efficient while growing 100% year-on-year, and hope to retain that discipline," said upGrad Co-founders Ronnie Screwvala and Mayank Kumar in a joint statement while commenting on the fund raise.  

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upGrad aims to strengthen its team from the present 4,800 to 7,600 in the next three months. This will also include about 170 full-time faculty, 1,600 teachers, and over 5,000 on-contract coaches and mentors. 

This announcement comes at a time when edtech startups like BYJU’S-owned WhiteHat Jr, Unacademy, Vedantu, Lido Learning, and others have laid-off employees heavily in the last few months, indicating that the sector has lost its mojo from the pandemic high.

Last month, upGrad acquired New Delhi-based online learning institution Harappa Education, and Bengaluru-based recruitment and staffing firm WOLVES. The startup also launched five new offline experience centres in Delhi, Jabalpur, Kolhapur, Kottayam, and Patna.

upGrad is also on track to record annual gross revenue of $400-500 million during FY23, out of which about 45% of total revenue will be realised from its own-branded online courses and programs, the company said in an official statement.

The startup has a learner base of over three million across 100 countries, over 300 university partners, and a robust enterprise business with a client base of 1,000 companies worldwide.

(The story was updated to correct a typo)