upGrad acquires Impartus; commits over Rs 150 cr for buyout, boost growth

upGrad, online higher education company, has acquired Impartus-a video-enabled learning solutions provider, and has committed to over Rs 150 crore for the buyout and to invest in its growth.

Founded by three IIT-graduates, Amit Mahensaria, Alok Choudhary and Manish Kumar, Bengaluru-based Impartus develops cutting-edge, innovative technology solutions for education, with their core feature being virtual classrooms that allow for deep learner-teacher engagement.

Impartus, now a 100 percent subsidiary of upGrad, has been integrated into the latter’s ecosystem and rebranded as ‘upGrad Campus’. In its new avatar upGrad Campus will target higher educational institutions and college students, with its learning tools and world-class content, in an integrated solution. It is looking to close FY22 with around Rs 85 crore revenue.

“One of the major challenges faced by graduates in India, is their lack of industry-ready and employable skillsets due to the inadequate curriculum of higher educational institutions. The synergy of Impartus and upGrad will pave the way for augmenting college education by helping learners upskill with new-age courses, thus elevating their candidature for better career prospects,” said Amit Mahensaria, CEO, upGrad Campus.

With this acquisition, upGrad, which predominantly focuses on working professionals, will now be able to strengthen its presence among HigherEd institutions and learners, which is a Rs 560 billion market.

Ronnie Screwvala, Chairman and Co-Founder, upGrad said, "This acquisition opens up a larger target group, as upGrad Campus will enable both higher educational institutions and its learners to get access to world-class learning materials,” said Gaurav Kumar, President - Corporate Development and M&A, upGrad.

Given the market opportunity, this move will enable upGrad to add 50,000 paid learners in the very first year of the acquisition.