Edtech startup upGrad gets its first external funding – a $120 million cheque from Temasek

• The Ronnie Screwvala-led startup has raised $120 million from Singapore-based Temasek.
• The startup said that it will use the funds for hiring, scale up global operations, pursue acquisitions, strengthen its tech offering among other things.
• upGrad further said that it plans to “scale up operations to achieve its $2 billion revenue goal by 2026”.

Indian edtech startup upGrad has raised its first external funding, six years after the startup was launched. The Ronnie Screwvala-led startup has raised $120 million from Singapore-based Temasek. The valuation of the startup remained undisclosed.

"This capital will further fuel our commitment towards global expansion as well as deeper India penetration, as we march forward with our goal of making India the teaching capital of the world,” said upGrad co-founders Ronnie Screwvala, Mayank Kumar and Phalgun Kompalli in a joint statement.

However, in August last year, the startup had raised a ₹50 crore debt fund from IIFL Asset Management.

The startup said that it will use the funds for hiring, scale up global operations, pursue acquisition opportunities, and strengthen its tech offering among other things. upGrad further said that it plans to “scale up operations to achieve its $2 billion revenue goal by 2026”.

upGrad had recently announced that it had hit ₹100 crore revenue in March 2021, while closing the last financial year with ₹1,200 crore in net revenue – claiming a 100% growth in yearly revenue.

The Indian edtech space has seen a massive uptick in users, as the COVID-19 pandemic forced students to go for online learning. upGrad faces competition from the likes of BYJU’S, Unacademy and Vedantu in the Indian edtech space.

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