UpGrad now a unicorn after raising $185 million from Temasek, others
BENGALURU: Ronnie Screwvala’s upGrad Education, which focuses on higher education and upskilling working professionals has joined India’s coveted league of unicorns--those startups valued at $1 billion or more.
The edtech said on Monday it has closed $185 million in external funding from Temasek Holdings, International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and IIFL at a valuation of $1.2 billion.
upGrad had announced the first close of $120 million from Temasek earlier in April this year, marking the first external fund raise by the firm since its inception in 2015. The edtech company also stated in February this year, that it will be raising around $45 million from IFC.
The company is now in talks to raise another $400 million at a valuation of $4 billion, confirmed two individuals aware of the discussions. The new round is expected to be closed in the coming weeks with existing investors also participating as a part of the round, said one of the people quoted above.
IIFL has invested around $20 million as a part of the round. With the fundraise, upGrad’s founders continue to hold more than 70% stake in the company.
The round makes upGrad the third edtech to enter the Indian unicorn startup league. Two Indian edtech companies targeting the kindergarten -12 (K-12) and test prep market--Naspers and Tiger Global-funded Byju’s and SoftBank-backed Unacademy--are already unicorns.
Last week, upGrad’s biggest external backer Temasek also led Unacademy’s $440 million Series H round, valuing the company at $3.44 billion.
upGrad’s entry takes the total count of Indian startups turning into unicorns to 21, this year.
“We are very focussed on our path to being in the top 3-5 companies globally for edtech and serving the 1 billion workforce across the age group of 18 to 60 years. We are pleased with the investor interest ever since we opened up for a fund raise, and had our maiden raise from Temasek, followed by IFC and IIFL in the last 60 days,” said Ronnie Screwvala, chairperson and Co-founder, upGrad confirming the news.
“We will announce further updates on acquisitions, and unlocking value as they unfold. Yes, the last value was at $1.2 billion, but as I keep saying, we are not a fan of the tag name unicorn - for us, it is only a means to a much larger goal,” added Screwala, in a written response.
This year, upGrad has already made two acquisitions—buying upskilling platform KnowledgeHut to mark its foray in shortduration professional courses segment; and video-learning solutions provider, Impartus to provide digital learning tools to education institutions and colleges.