upGrad escalates USD 120 million funding from Temasek

On Monday, upGrad said it has raised USD 120 million from Singapore-based Temasek, making this the first exterior fund-raise by the edtech major. Since its beginning in 2015, upGrad has been 100 percent owned, funded, and run by its co-founders as a capital-efficient business.

upGrad campaign to utilize the new capital to further reinforce its team, scale its global market operations and augment its technology and product capabilities. The company will also chase merger and attainment (M&A) opportunities, expand graduate and post-graduate degree portfolio in India, and scale up operations to achieve its USD 2 billion revenue goal by 2026.

upGrad co-founder Ronnie Screwvala, states, ''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.''

These capitals will be added fuel the company's obligation towards global development as well as deeper India dissemination, as it marches frontward with its goal of making India the instruction capital of the world, upGrad co-founder Mayank Kumar added. Credit Suisse acted as the exclusive financial advisor to upGrad, and Rajaram Legal acted as legal advisor.

While a number of players have raised fresh backing from investors, consolidation is also being seen in the industry with deals like Unacademy acquiring PrepLadder for USD 50 million and Byju's buying WhiteHat Jr for USD 300 million, and Aakash Educational Services for nearly USD 1 billion. Last year, upGrad also acquired The Gate Academy (TGA) and Rekrut India.