🚀 Medial Secures Investment on Shark Tank India - Fueling the Future of Professional Social Networking. 🔥
Login

News on Medial

Edtech firms bet on upskilling, higher education amid funding gloom

LivemintLivemint · 1y ago
Edtech firms bet on upskilling, higher education amid funding gloom
Medial

The Indian edtech industry is expected to see more investments in upskilling, higher education, and test preparation sectors, driven by strong demand. Despite a funding downturn caused by the pandemic, investors and experts remain optimistic about the sector's growth potential. Companies like Upgrad and Emeritus, with their lucrative business models and focus on income orientation, present attractive opportunities. Although the sector faced challenges in the past year, including funding cuts and cautious investor sentiment, it remains ripe for growth due to the preference for digital-first learning and the integration of artificial intelligence into education. However, K-12 education continues to struggle due to offline-online-offline shifts.

Related News

Upskilling platforms see robust demand for courses amid edtech slump

Money ControlMoney Control · 2y ago
Upskilling platforms see robust demand for courses amid edtech slump
Medial

Amid the pandemic, professionals like Jitin Sharma turned to online learning platforms to enhance their skills. Sharma, a software engineer, took up data science and AI courses on Scaler to break the monotony of his work. After completing the courses, he secured a job at Microsoft with a significant salary increase. Demand for upskilling courses remains strong, especially in areas like data science, AI, cloud computing, and software engineering. Platforms like Eruditus, upGrad, and Great Learning are witnessing revenue growth of 60-100% in FY23 due to continued interest in lifelong learning and online education. Upskilling and higher education platforms secured close to $750 million across 116 deals in 2022, K-12 and test prep platforms, on the other hand, nearly halved to $1.7 billion in 2022 from over $3 billion in 2021.

upGrad–Unacademy deal called off over valuation differences

EntrackrEntrackr · 12d ago
upGrad–Unacademy deal called off over valuation differences
Medial

upGrad–Unacademy deal called off over valuation differences Confirming the development, Ronnie Screwvala, co-founder of upGrad, told Entrackr, “Yes, we are not proceeding due to valuation differences." The much-speculated acquisition talks between online higher education platform upGrad and test-prep major Unacademy have been called off after both parties failed to reach a consensus on valuation, according to sources aware of the matter. While we cannot comment on specific numbers, it is fair to say that we were unable to arrive at a mutually agreeable valuation. Entrackr had earlier reported that upGrad and Unacademy were engaged in merger and acquisition discussions as consolidation accelerates across India’s edtech sector. The talks drew attention at a time when Unacademy was navigating internal restructuring, implementing cost-rationalisation measures, and sharpening its focus on its core test-preparation business. In recent months, Gaurav Munjal, co-founder and CEO of Unacademy, had publicly acknowledged that the company was exploring various strategic options, including fundraising and potential M&A transactions, while maintaining that no decision had been finalised. Munjal had also clarified the company’s position on employee stock option (ESOP) exercises and valuation expectations, amid questions around internal liquidity and employee compensation. Separately, Unacademy has put on hold proposed amendments to its 2018 ESOS scheme following strong pushback from former employees. The objections were primarily linked to the tax implications and liquidity concerns associated with exercising stock options at a significantly lower valuation compared to earlier rounds. Unacademy has yet to comment officially on the stalled merger talks. Founded in 2015, Unacademy has raised over $800 million from investors including SoftBank, General Atlantic, and Tiger Global, and was last valued at around $3.4 billion during the peak of the edtech funding cycle. However, like several peers in the sector, the company has faced pressure to recalibrate growth expectations amid a prolonged funding slowdown. upGrad, which operates across higher education, upskilling, and overseas education segments, has previously pursued selective acquisitions to strengthen its portfolio.

For UpGrad’s Mayank Kumar, public capital is better than a private chase

LivemintLivemint · 1y ago
For UpGrad’s Mayank Kumar, public capital is better than a private chase
Medial

Mayank Kumar, managing director of edtech platform UpGrad, advises startups to constantly evolve their product to achieve product-market fit. In a podcast interview, he emphasized the importance of persistence in a founder's journey and shared his own experience of breaking away from family expectations to start his own business. Kumar explained how his passion for education led to the founding of UpGrad and the decision to focus on higher education and upskilling. He also discussed the challenges of accessing capital and the need to constantly innovate in order to maintain product-market fit. Kumar revealed that UpGrad is considering an IPO in the next two years, noting that public capital is currently a favorable option in India's entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Download the medial app to read full posts, comements and news.