upGrad raises Rs 300 crore in internal funding round from Temasek, Ronnie Screwvala, other existing shareholders

upGrad founders

Edtech unicorn upGrad has completed an internal rights issue worth Rs 300 crore, amid a challenging climate where venture funding for the sector appears to be dwindling.

In a statement, the company said that existing shareholder Temasek contributed Rs 81 crore, while upGrad co-founder and chairperson Ronnie Screwvala contributed Rs 212 crore, with other minority stakeholders completing the balance.

“Yes, we confirm the internal round. The company is focused on its organic and in-organic growth across multiple verticals of formal education via degree, diploma, and doctorate courses in partnership with the best universities in India and globally. upGrad is also focused on a large segment of Skilling, Short-Certification courses, Bootcamps, and Job-linked programs coupled with the fast-growing sector of Study Abroad,” said an upGrad spokesperson.

The company said it currently operates out of 31 offices located in India, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Middle East, Singapore, and Vietnam.

Also Read: upGrad raises $210 million at $2.25 billion valuation in round led by ETS Global, Bodhi Tree

Earlier in August 2022, edtech unicorn upGrad raised $210 million in a funding round at a valuation of $2.25 billion, led by ETS Global, one of the world's largest providers of global entrance tests like GRE and TOEFL, and Bodhi Tree, an investment vehicle set up by media veterans Uday Shankar and James Murdoch, among others.

Singapore's Kaizen Management Advisors, Family office of Bharti Airtel, Narotam Sekhsaria Family Office (family office of Ambuja Cements and ACC), and Artisan Investments (family office of Arcelor Mittal's Lakshmi Mittal ) along with existing investors Temasek, IFC (International Finance Corporation) and IIFL also participated in the round, back then.

In the round, upGrad's founders - Ronnie Screwvala, Mayank Kumar, and Phalgun Kompalli, had also invested $12.5 million in an attempt to maintain their ownership of over 50 percent of the edtech unicorn, upGrad had then said.

Moneycontrol had earlier reported that upGrad incurred a net loss of Rs 626.61 crore in FY22 on a consolidated basis, widening from a loss of Rs 211.1 crore in the previous year.

On a standalone basis, upGrad's total revenue jumped to Rs 519.39 crore in FY22 from Rs 302.87 crore a year earlier, the filings show.