Higher education platform upGrad raises $210M in funding from investors

Mumbai-based higher education platform upGrad has raised $210 million (approx. Rs 1,670 crore) in funding from ETS Global, Bodhi Tree, Singapore's Kaizen Management Advisors, Family Office of Bharti Airtel, Narotam Sekhsaria Family Office, and Lakshmi Mittal's Artian Investments, along with existing investors Temasek, IFC, and IIFL.

According to the company's statement, The Founder Group also invested $12.5 million in the round to maintain over 50% ownership in the edtech startup.

Founded in 2015 by Ronnie Screwvala, Mayank Kumar, Phalgun Kompalli, and Ravijot Chugh, upGrad (upGrad Education Pvt. Ltd.) provides higher education courses such as MBA, Data Science, Marketing, Law, Technology, etc. by partnering with top Indian universities.

“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 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," said upGrad Co-founders Ronnie Screwvala and Mayank Kumar in a joint statement.

The edtech startup, which turned unicorn last year, said it is on track to record annual gross revenue of $400-500 million during FY23 out of which about 45% of total revenue will be realized from its own-branded online courses and programs.

The startup also said it aims to grow its team from 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, it said.

“There is a massive re-skilling revolution taking place around the world and over the last five years, our more than 4800 colleagues have worked hard and smart to be at the epicenter of taking advantage of this, not just in India but around the world,” Ronnie Screwvala and Mayank Kumar added.

Last month, upGrad acquired Harappa Education for Rs 300 crore or $38 million in a cash and stock deal.

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