Edtech unicorn upGrad bullish on non-linear growth, says Mayank Kumar

Co-founder and Managing Director Mayank Kumar expects a massive growth for the edtech sector, and his seven-year-old start-up will nearly quadruple its registered learners base to 7.5 million in the next two years.

The company is upbeat on raising the topline this year. "We are looking at strategic non-linear growth opportunities through key M&A (merger and acquisition) activities," Kumar said.

Founded in 2015, upGrad is an online education firm in the high education and professional upskilling space. In August, it had closed $185 million in external funding from Temasek Holdings, International Finance Corporation (IFC) and IIFL at a valuation of $1.2 billion.

"We aim to achieve 7.5 million registered users by 2024 by partnering with over 1,298 universities and 3,110 corporates, and expanding its network of faculties, mentors, and experts to 11,078," Kumar said.

India's online education market is predicted to reach $3.5 billion by the end of 2022, according to industry forecasts. Kumar attributed reasons like increase in digitalisation, hybrid model of learning, industry-relevant courses by top-rated universities and colleges, ease of payment, growing awareness, funding by investors, and supportive government policies for this growth.

He said investment in edtech start-ups has been strong in recent years. And given the size of the market and the potential for growth, India is poised to become an international hub, where online learning will emerge as a default option in higher education.

India's edtech start-ups are on a demand upswell since the outbreak of the pandemic. The demand has put firms like Byju's, Unacademy, upGrad, Simplilearn, Vedantu, and others in a fast growth trajectory. Dozens of start-ups have garnered funding rounds from investors betting big on Indian start-ups who are seeking to capture a pie of the massive education market in India and abroad.