Education Technology · Profile from Education Technology Research Companion
upGrad Education Private Limited
Ronnie Screwvala's Mumbai-based online higher-education and upskilling company. It sells university-branded online degrees, diplomas and certificates to working Indians, and spent 2021–22 buying a dozen companies to become a "full-stack" lifelong-learning group. In 2025–26 it cut losses sharply, bought Internshala and the remains of Unacademy, and is preparing for an Indian IPO.
At a glance
- Founded
- Incorporated 2015, Mumbai; first programme (with IIIT Bangalore) launched 2016
- Founders
- Ronnie Screwvala (founder of UTV, sold to Disney in 2012), Mayank Kumar, Phalgun Kompalli, Ravijot Chugh
- Headquarters
- Mumbai, India; offices in Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, Dubai, Singapore, London, Melbourne and the US (reported)
- Ownership / structure
- Private. Screwvala and co-founders hold the largest stake (reported at well over half before 2021, diluted since); Temasek, IFC, IIFL, Lupa Systems (James Murdoch), the Sekhsaria family office, former Bharti/Centum holders and others are minority investors. Organised as a group holding company with business units (online degrees, enterprise, study abroad, test prep, jobs)
- Leadership (2026)
- Ronnie Screwvala, Chairman and co-founder; Mayank Kumar, co-founder and MD (verify current title); business-unit CEOs under the group. Former G20 sherpa Amitabh Kant joined the board in 2025 ahead of a planned IPO (reported, verify)
- Segment and buyer
- Higher education and workforce: working professionals (B2C, often loan-financed), college students, employers (upGrad Enterprise), study-abroad students, government-exam aspirants (via acquired brands)
- Scale
- Company claims ~10m+ registered learners across group brands and 300+ university partners (company claims, verify). Operating revenue ~₹1,569 crore (~$185m) in FY25 (year to March 2025); gross revenue ~₹2,070 crore (~$240m) in FY26 with net loss ~₹130 crore (~$15m) and EBITDA ~₹123 crore (reported)
- Capital raised / valuation / market cap
- ~$500–600m of external equity since 2021 (reported). Unicorn at ~$1.2bn after Temasek's ~$120m (2021); ~$2.25bn in August 2022; flat ~$2.25bn when Temasek added ~$60m (October 2024). No public market cap
- Signature moves
- IIIT Bangalore PG Diploma in Data Science (2016); international online master's degrees with LJMU, Deakin and others (2019–20); first external capital from Temasek and unicorn status (2021); the ~$250m M&A spree (2021–22: KnowledgeHut, Impartus, Talentedge, Global Study Partners, INSOFE, Harappa, Centum, Exampur and others); upGrad Abroad hybrid pathways (2022); restructuring to near-profitability (2023–26); Internshala and Unacademy acquisitions (2026). Notable misses: foreign "online doctorates" criticised by Indian regulators (2022), heavy losses in FY23, uneven integration of acquired comp
9 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
2015
Founding and IIIT Bangalore Diploma
Launch / partnership
2019
International Online Degrees
Launch / partnership
2021
Acquisition Spree
Acquisition (programme of ~10+ deals)
2021
Temasek Round and Unicorn
Funding round
2022
Enterprise Harappa and Centum
Acquisition
2022
upGrad Abroad Hybrid Pathways
Launch (with acquisition support)
2023
Restructuring and Profitability
Restructuring
2024
Flat Round and IPO Preparation
Funding round / IPO preparation
2026
Internshala and Unacademy Acquisitions
Acquisition