UpGrad is a provider of global online higher education, and a representative of upskilling and higher-education niche. The startup mainly focuses on catering to older customers seeking expertise, which means additional help or degree to cope with entry tests for Indian elite medical, engineering, and business schools.
Among the funding round investors were James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems LLC and Educational Testing Service, a US testing and assessment provider. Temasek Holdings Pte as well as the family offices of Indian billionaires Lakshmi Mittal of steelmaker ArcelorMittal SA and Sunil Bharti Mittal of telecom operator Bharti Airtel took part in the round.
UpGrad, Mumbai, India, was founded by Ronnie Screwvala, Mayank Kumar, and Phalgun Kompalli in 2015. “India will write the global higher-edtech story. There’s an insatiable global appetite for upskilling and upgrading to diplomas, degrees, and doctorates, all of which have measurable outcomes such as a new job, a raise, or a promotion,” Ronnie Screwvala, Chairman of UpGrad. The company spans several segments such as test preparation for study abroad and undergraduate degrees to campus courses in 250 universities. UpGrad offers 18-60 aged people courses in law, software, finance, and business. In 2021, the company achieved unicorn status and expanded to Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific, and North America. That year UpGrad had over 2 million registered learners in 100 countries.
