Mumbai: Homegrown higher ed-tech major upGrad has turned a unicorn as it closes a series of raises from Temasek, IFC (International Finance Corporation, a sister organisation of the World Bank and member of the World Bank Group), and IIFL. It has raised a total of USD 185 million at a value of USD 1.2 billion.
“We are very focussed on our path to being in the top three to five companies globally in ed-tech and serving the one billion workforces across the age group of 18 to 60 years," said upGrad chairperson and co-founder Ronnie Screwvala. "We are pleased with the investor interest ever since we opened up for a fundraise, and had our maiden raise from Temasek, followed by IFC and IIFL in the last 60 days. We will announce further updates on M&As, and unlocking value as they unfold."
"Yes, the last value was at USD 1.2 billion, but as I keep saying, we are not a fan of the tag name unicorn - for us, it is only a means to a much larger goal," he added.
upGrad has always been promoter-funded with the founder group still owning 70 per cent plus in the company. It is reportedly in advanced talks for a USD 400 million fundraise at a valuation of USD four billion.