Ronnie Screwvala's UpGrad is India's newest entry into the unicorn club as it closes a $185 million funding round

Global online higher education provider upGrad on Monday became another unicorn from the country, after it announced to close a total of $185 million funding round at a market valuation of $1.2 billion.

The company raised fresh funds from Temasek, IFC (International Finance Corporation, a sister organisation of World Bank) and IIFL.

"We are very focused on our path to being in the top three-five companies globally in edtech and serving the one billion workforce across the age group of 18-60. We are pleased with the investor interest ever since we opened up for a fundraise, 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.

In April, UpGrad had raised $120 million from Temasek, a global investment company headquartered in Singapore.

"We will announce further updates on M&As, 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," he said in a statement.

Recent reports suggested that company is in advanced talks for a $400 million fundraise at a valuation of $4 billion.

upGrad has earmarked $250 million for mergers and acquisitions (M&As) over the next seven-nine months, as it strengthens non-linear growth strategy.

upGrad is set to cross $500 million annual revenue run rate by March 2022 and is looking to raise close to $400 million at a $4 billion valuation.

upGrad has built out a strong tech platform and deep immersive learning experience with high touch-points to capture close to 70 per cent of the Indian higher education market for working professionals.

Earlier this month, upGrad acquired global firm KnowledgeHut for an undisclosed sum.

KnowledgeHut, an upGrad Company, expects to cross Rs 300 crore in revenue next year, 65 per cent of which will be from countries across North America, Middle East and South-East Asia.

As per industry estimates, there are 53 unicorns currently in India, with a tentative valuation of Rs. 1.4 lakh crore.


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