Mumbai, India, August 3, 2021: Asia’s higher EdTech major upGrad today announced that it has acquired global EdTech company KnowledgeHut. This comes within weeks of upGrad earmarking USD 250 mn for Mergers & Acquisitions to drive non-linear growth for the next seven to nine months.
Founded by Subramanyam Reddy in 2011, KnowledgeHut is a global edtech company, aimed at equipping the global workforce with the skills of the future through outcome-based immersive learning. As a leading skills solutions provider, KnowledgeHut has trained over 2,50,000 professionals and empowered over 500 enterprises to build the skills that drive results, with a product offering of over 200 courses across in-demand areas of Web Development, Machine Learning / AI and Data Science, Agile and Project Management, IT Service Management, Cyber Security and Cloud Computing.
With the acquisition of KnowledgeHut, upGrad is venturing into the short duration upskilling and reskilling segment which has a market potential of over USD 58 Billion. To leverage this market opportunity, the combined might will allow KnowledgeHut – now rebranded as ‘KnowledgeHut, an upGrad company’ will offer learners a scalable and immersive learning model, to upskill and help them drive meaningful career outcomes, through its next-gen flagship learning experience platform, PRISM.
Announcing the acquisition, upGrad Chairperson & Co-Founder, Ronnie Screwvala said, “With KnowledgeHut on board, our focus on being an integrated LifeLongLearning partner for powering Career Success for the Global 1 billion workforce just got stronger. KnowledgeHut’s presence in 70+ countries will further upGrad’s ambition of liberalising quality online education around the world.”
Post-acquisition, KnowledgeHut will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of upGrad. Subramanyam Reddy, Founder & Director, KnowledgeHut will be at the helm in his new role as the CEO.
Subramanyam Reddy, CEO, upGrad KnowledgeHut said, “With our focus on short-term professional upskilling, KnowledgeHut is driving outcome-based immersive learning for global technologists and the wider professional community. Given our position in global markets, this synergy with upGrad will further strengthen and support that vision. The acquisition paves the way for upGrad to empower B2B customer segments across geographies including the United States and the Asia Pacific.”
With this acquisition the EdTech leader upGrad will have access to KnowledgeHut’s global learner pool of 2,50,000. KnowledgeHut, an upGrad Company, is expected to cross INR 300 Crore (USD 40 Mn) revenue next year, 65% of which will be from countries across North America, Middle East, and South-East Asia.
