Edtech startup upGrad crosses $210 million annual revenue run rate

Ronnie Screwvala-founded edtech start-up upGrad, said it has recorded a mid-year growth in its gross revenue to cross $210 million annual revenue run rate (ARR) in September, maintaining the track for its forecasted ARR of $500 million in March 2022. 

The firm has chalked a multidimensional growth plan. This includes sustaining its aggressive momentum for full-stack LifeLong Learning for the 18-60 year working professionals, skill development via its recent acquisition of KnowledgeHut and Govt Test Prep via upGrad Jeet.  The firm's Study Abroad portfolio has recorded a 300 per cent growth in the last 2 quarters. It is also witnessing growth in UpGrad for business, the enterprise arm for corporates and on-campus courses. The recent international expansion in APAC, EMEA and the US has also kicked in.

“Along with our existing growth plans, our M&A appetite for non-linear growth continues to remain large on a strategic level,”  said Mayank Kumar, MD and co-founder, upGrad. “One should expect to hear closure on some global deals soon. While the closing quarter has witnessed several business initiatives put to action, the coming two quarters will reap strong results as the overall upGrad brand kicks in”

upGrad, which has a team of over 3350 employees said it remains steadfast in securing its position as Asia’s largest higher integrated edtech company. The firm said it expects to grow much faster than its peers in the education space.

In August this year, the firm said that it has closed a series of raises from Temasek, IFC (International Finance Corporation, a sister organization of the World Bank and member of the World Bank Group), and IIFL. It raised a total of $185 million at a value of $1.2 billion, making it the newest member of the coveted unicorn club.

The funding would help upGrad compete with players such as Byju’s, SoftBank backed Unacademy, Vedantu, Simplilearn and Amazon Academy.