Higher edtech platform upGrad bucks trend, raises Rs 1,670 cr

Mumbai, Aug 8 (IANS) Online higher education platform upGrad on Monday said it has raised $210 million (about Rs 1,670 crore) in a round that saw participation from ETS Global, Bodhi Tree, Kaizen Management Advisors and others -- at a time when the Indian edtech companies are busy sacking employees amid the ongoing funding winter.

Founder Group also invested $12.5 million in the funding round to maintain their over 50 per cent ownership in upGrad, the company announced.

The edtech company said it is on track to record annual gross revenue of $400-500 million during FY23, out of which about 45 per cent of total revenue will be realised from its own-branded online courses and programmes.

"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," said upGrad Co-founders, Ronnie Screwvala and Mayank Kumar.

Other investors in the new funding round included Family office of Bharti Airtel, Narotam Sekhsaria Family Office (Ambuja Cements and ACC), and Artisan Investments (Family Office of Lakshmi Mittal - ArcelorMittal), along with existing investors Temasek, IFC and IIFL.

"We have always been very capital efficient while growing 100 per cent year-on-year and hope to retain that discipline," said upGrad Co-founders.

upGrad said its team strength will grow to 7,600 from the present 4,800 in the next three months, including about 170 full-time faculty, 1,600 teachers, and over 5,000 on-contract coaches and mentors.

Started in 2015, the edtech platform has a learner base of over three million across more than 100 countries, over 300 university partners and a client base of 1,000 companies.

Last month, upGrad acquired online learning institution Harappa Education for Rs 300 crore (about $38 million).