Temasek and IFC-backed online up-skilling and re-skilling platform Upgrad has set a target of more than doubling its revenue run rate to over Rs 2,400 crore this fiscal, boosted by a massive spike in online education due to lockdowns.
Last month, Upgrad raised its maiden external funding of USD 160 million from these entities.
From a revenue run rate of Rs 230 crore in FY20, the Ronnie Screwvala-co-founded company had closed FY21 with over Rs 1,200 crore, notching up a monthly revenue run rate of Rs 100 crore. And it hopes to double the same this fiscal.
Last financial year, its growth was driven by an exponential demand for upskilling/ re-skilling as the pandemic-driven lockdowns forced companies to send their employees home.
This also helped it more than double its customer base from around 5 lakh professionals -- who took to its learning and upskilling courses between its founding in 2015 and March 2020 -- to cross 1 million between April and December 2020.
"We hope to more than double our revenue run rate to over Rs 2,400 crore in FY22, over Rs 1,200 crore we had clocked in FY21. We also have set a target of doubling our user-base to over 2 million within the next 18 months," Screwvala told PTI during a recent interaction.
This means the company expects to have a monthly revenue run rate of Rs 200 crore.
Last month, the city-based company divested 25 per cent of the promoters equity to the Singaporean investment giant Temasek Holdings and the World Bank group entity IFC for an equity infusion of USD 120 million and USD 40 million, respectively.
This has taken Upgrad -- co-founded by ex-media baron Screwvala and Phalgun Kompalli, Mayank Kumar and Ravijot Chugh in 2015 -- closer to the unicorn status, valuing it at USD 850 million.
On April 29, Screwvala had said that the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Temasek have chosen to invest in us in the same week is a big reflection of the work we do.
With these investments, Screwvala had said the three promoters, excluding Ravijot Chugh, would retain almost 75 per cent. Screwvala will have 60 per cent, and the other two co-promoters would hold almost 15 per cent.
