upGrad acquires The GATE Academy, forays into test-preparation space

Online education firm upGrad on November 24 entered the test preparation space with the acquisition of The Gate Academy (TGA) for an undisclosed amount.

This is the first such merger and acquisition (M&A) deal for upGrad. The company said in a statement that this is among the first in a series of M&As planned over the next three months.

Bengaluru-based TGA offers coaching for GATE and several other government/public entrance examinations. It has close to 200,000 enrolled learners with 57 centres across India.

Data shows that just the government exam preparation market sees 40 million applicants every year spending about Rs 10,000, thus opening up a new Rs 40,000 crore market for upGrad.

"TGA provides upGrad a non-linear growth opportunity in new-segment entry and deeper penetration in the semi-urban and rural markets, which is in line with our core vision of making 'Bharat' employable by adopting the mantra of lifelong learning," said upGrad co-founders Ronnie Screwvala and Mayank Kumar in a joint statement.

After the acquisition, TGA will operate as a subsidiary of upGrad and will continue with its brand name. Ritesh Raushan will pursue as the CEO of the entity to build this business line. Here, upGrad will be providing its proprietary online learning solution and tools for enhancing the learning experience, as well as its sales, marketing, and content prowess.

The edtech leader also plans to invest over Rs 100 crore into this test preparation subsidiary and will be developing over 20,000 hours of content in multiple languages to provide access to at least one million test-takers annually.

Ritesh Raushan, Founder and CEO, The Gate Academy, said that it aims to employ its extensive experience in both physical and online modes of teaching to create a world-class product that will bring fundamental changes in the way technology enables learning in the future.

upGrad currently operates in the online learning market and offers upskilling courses across age groups.