Ed-tech Unicorn upGrad has acquired online educational institution Harappa Education for $38 million (Rs 300 crore) in a cash and stock deal.
As a part of this acquisition, Harappa founders Pramath Raj Sinha and Shreyasi Singh will join the cap table of the upgrade along with its stakeholders.
This acquisition will help UpGrade to strengthen its capabilities in the enterprise tech segment, and Harappa Education will continue to operate independently, according to upGrade’s spokesperson.
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Earlier this month upGrad's subsidiary upGrad Rekrut acquired WOLVES India, a recruitment and staffing company.
The New Delhi based Harappa Education was founded in 2018 by Pramath Raj Sinha and Shreyasi Singh, It is a B2B edtech startup that provides self-paced online courses to professionals working in various organizations.
The platform offers courses in several areas such as personality development, career development, emotional intelligence and productivity.
It currently has clients from 100 medium and large sized organizations, and plans to generate INR 75 crore revenue this year.
“We are delighted to expand on the immense potential with Ronnie and Mayank. As a combined force, Harappa and upGrad will anchor our purpose and conviction to create a truly wholesome learning ecosystem for lifelong learners in India and abroad,” said, Pramath Raj Sinha and Shreyasi Singh, founders of Harappa Education.
upGrad was founded in 2015 by Ronnie Screwvala, Mayank Kumar and Phalgun Kompalli, It has a user base of 3 million in over 100 countries.
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In addition, it has clients from over 1000 companies, and has a presence in other countries including the UK, US, Middle East, Singapore and Vietnam.
“We see strong demand from our clients and with Harappa coming in, we believe we will be able to grow exponentially within the segment as we cross-leverage synergies. Pramath and Shreyasi come with a strong business legacy, which in turn, fuels our ambition of becoming the global edtech leader,” said Ronnie Screwvala and Mayank Kumar, founders of upGrad.
Last month, it had raised $225 million in its funding from the US-based test and assessment company, Lupa Systems LLC, Educational Testing Service (ETS), and others.
Since its inception, it has acquired four companies this year and 12 so far.
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About Harappa Education
Harappa is a learner-centered institution of the future focused on accelerating the personal growth of their learners, to help them confidently navigate their most crucial career cusps. Their courses and programs drive transformative career success using Thrive Skills—an essential set of cognitive, social and behavioral skills that enable individuals to continuously succeed, at every stage of their career. Their approach is rooted in academic research, expert insights and behavioral science.
Harappa Education impact comes from a strong focus on application-oriented pracademic curriculum. This is enhanced by a friction-free experience, analysis-rich platform and benchmark learning technology. Harappa Education is excited to offer this distinctive experience, at the intersection of lifelong learning, technology and impact.
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About upGrad
Founded in 2015, upGrad is India’s largest online higher education company providing programs in Data Science, Technology, Management and Law, to students, working professionals and enterprises. Every program is designed and delivered in collaboration with top universities like the IIT Madras, MICA, NMIMS Global Access, Jindal Global Law School, Duke CE, Deakin University, Liverpool John Moores University and others.
With an 85% program completion rate, a robust tech platform, an outcome-based learning approach, industry-relevant curriculum, strong mentorship, and placement support, upGrad has established its position as the leader in the Indian education system and is well on its way to accomplish their Vision of powering career success for every member of global workforce as their trusted lifelong learning partner.
upGrad has on-boarded over 40,000 paid learners while impacting more than a million individuals, globally. IIIT Bangalore and upGrad’s collaborated program of PG Diploma in Data Science is India’s first-ever PG Diploma to be recommended and validated by the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) and government-approved National Occupational Standards (NOS). upGrad received the ‘Best Education Brands’ award by Economic Times in 2018, Most Innovative Companies in India' by Fast Company in 2017 and has made it to LinkedIn’s ‘Top 25 Startups’ two years in a row in 2018 and 2019, and in 1st position in 2020.