Edtech major UpGrad raises $210 million in latest round

The latest round of fundraise from a marquee investor was announced on Monday by Edtech major upGrad amid a looming funding winter and layoff season across companies.

In a statement, upGrad said it raised $210 million in a round that included ETS Global, Bodhi Tree, Kaizen Management Advisors and others.

The founders invested $12.5 million in this round to maintain their 50 per cent ownership in upGrad.

The company says that its team strength will grow to 7600 from the present 4800 in the next 3 months, and that it will also include about 170 full-time faculty, 1600 teachers, and over 5000 on-contract coaches and mentors as it aims to build one of the largest full-time edtech faculty in the world.

UpGrad has remained bullish with its completion rate of 80% and has emerged as a global leader in the higher education segment, despite the slowdown in the sector. It stated that 40% of the company's total revenue is made from Repeats and Referrals year-on- year.

EdTech will be on the rise for the next 4 to 5 decades. In the last 12 months, upGrad has re-shaped itself to be the most integrated company in the space with career opportunities for college learners and working professionals from the age of 18 to 58 and will be a LifeLongLearning partner for millions in the coming years. "We have always been very capital efficient while growing 100% year-on-year and hope to retain that discipline," said Mayank Kumar, Ronnie Screwvala and Ronnie Screwvala in a joint statement.

The company said that it is on track to record annual gross revenue of $400 -- $500 million during FY 23 and about 45 per cent of total revenue will be derived from its own online courses and programs.