News: Edtech major upGrad raises $120 Mn from Temasek

Skilling

Edtech major upGrad raises $120 Mn from Temasek

The fresh capital will be used to scale operations in international markets, pursue M&A opportunities, and expand graduate and post-graduate degree portfolios.
Edtech major upGrad raises $120 Mn from Temasek

upGrad, South Asia's largest online higher education company, today announced that it has raised US$120 Mn from Temasek, a global investment company headquartered in Singapore. This is the first external funding raised by the edtech major. Since its founding six years ago in 2015, upGrad has been 100% owned, funded, and run by its co-founders as a capital-efficient business. 

upGrad plans to use the fresh capital to further strengthen its team, scale its global market operations, bolster its technology and product capabilities, pursue M&A opportunities, expand graduate and post-graduate degree portfolio in India, and scale up operations to achieve its USD 2 billion revenue goal by 2026, thereby reinforcing its position as a global higher-edtech leader emerging from India. 

upGrad Co-Founders Ronnie Screwvala, Mayank Kumar and Phalgun Kompalli said in a joint statement, "We welcome Temasek in our mission to power career success for each and every member of the global workforce as their trusted LifeLongLearning partner and drive meaningful career outcomes. This capital will further fuel our commitment towards global expansion as well as deeper India penetration, as we march forward with our goal of making India the teaching capital of the world.”

Credit Suisse acted as the exclusive financial advisor to upGrad, and Rajaram Legal acted as legal advisor.

The  edtech company offers 100+ courses in collaboration with top-notch global universities like Duke Corporate Education (US), Michigan State University (US), Liverpool John Moores University (UK), Deakin Business School (Australia), Swiss School of Business Management, (Geneva), IIT Madras (India), IIM Kozhikode (India), and others. Founded in 2015, the international edtech leader has impacted over 1 million total registered learners in over 50+ countries across the world.

Claiming an 85% program completion rate, which otherwise is 3-6% for other MOOCs, outcome-based learning approach, industry-relevant curriculum, finest university credentials, strong mentorship, and steadfast career support, upGrad differentiates itself in driving meaningful career outcomes for its learners, in terms of career transition, acceleration, or elevating professional confidence.

In December 2020, upGrad acquired Rekrut India, the recruitment and staffing solutions company. This 100% acquisition marked an unprecedented M&A in India, where an edtech company acquired a recruitment firm.

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Topics: Skilling, Funding & Investment

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