Global edtech upGrad in major funding announcement

Funding to provide boost to UK's international student population

LONDON, April 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- South Asia's largest online higher education company, upGrad, today announced that it has raised USD 120 million from Temasek, a global investment company headquartered in Singapore. 

upGrad plans to use a portion of the fresh capital to support UK institutions whose international student population has suffered as a result of the pandemic. The edtech platform plans to help more universities accessible to the world by taking services online.

The cost-effective proposition offers university partners with a new revenue stream at no extra cost, with only limited faculty time required in the first year.

upGrad Co-Founders Ronnie Screwvala, Mayank Kumar and Phalgun Kompalli said in a joint statement, "We welcome Temasek in our mission to power career success for each and every member of the global workforce as their trusted LifeLongLearning partner and drive meaningful career outcomes. This capital will further fuel our commitment towards the UK market, which will houses upGrad's first international headquarters in London."

Elsewhere, upGrad will be using the funding to strengthen its team scale its global market operations, bolster its technology and product capabilities, pursue M&A opportunities, expend graduate and post-graduate degree portfolio in India, and scale up operations to achieve its USD 2 billion revenue goal by 2026.

This is the first external funding raised by the online edtech platform. Since its founding six years ago, upGrad has been 100% owned, funded, and run by its co-founders as a capital-efficient business.  

Credit Suisse acted as the exclusive financial advisor to upGrad, and Rajaram Legal acted as legal advisor. 

About upGrad

upGrad is South Asia's largest online higher edtech company offering 100+ courses in collaboration with top-notch global universities like Duke Corporate Education (US), Michigan State University (US), Liverpool John Moores University (UK), Deakin Business School (Australia), Swiss School of Business Management, (Geneva), IIT Madras (India), IIM Kozhikode (India), and others. Founded in 2015, the international edtech leader has impacted over 1 million total registered learners over 50+ countries across the world.

upGrad has ranked No.1 in the LinkedIn Top Startups India 2020 list. This is the third time in a row that upGrad has been featured in the LinkedIn Top Startup list after 2018 and 2019. It is also amongst GSV Global EdTech 50 and has ranked amongst the Top 50 in the FT Asia-Pacific High-Growth Companies 2021.

To know more, visit: www.upgrad.com 

About Temasek

Temasek is an investment company with a net portfolio value of S$306 billion (US$214 billion) as of 31 March 2020. Its three roles as an Investor, Institution and Steward, as defined in the Temasek Charter, shape Temasek's ethos to do well, do right and do good. Temasek actively seeks sustainable solutions to address present and future challenges, through investment and other opportunities that help to bring about a better, smarter and more sustainable world.

For more information on Temasek, please visit www.temasek.com.sg

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