Edtech startup upGrad acquires Impartus, commits Rs 150 crore towards buyout and growth

Mumbai-based Edtech startup upGrad Monday said it has acquired Impartus, a video-enabled solutions provider, and committed over Rs 150 crore for the buyout and to invest in its growth.

Kaizenvest was the institutional investor partner for Impartus for this deal.

Impartus, now a 100% subsidiary of upgrad, has been rebranded as ‘upGrad Campus’.

Its new initiatives will include targeting higher education institutions and college students, with its learning tools and content, in an integrated solution. It is looking to close FY22 with around Rs 85 crore revenue, with the founders continuing to run and grow the business independently.

“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.

According to the company, upGrad Campus will now have two verticals–B2C and B2B.

The B2C vertical will offer job-oriented courses in areas of Full Stack Development, Artificial Intelligence, Digital Marketing, Business Analytics, and Career Preparation (Soft Skills). The course duration is of 2 months with a maximum of four months, and each learner will be required to devote 10-15 hours per week during the period.

Meanwhile, the B2B vertical’s offerings will be tailored to higher educational institutions (HEI). As HEI’s B2B SaaS partner, upGrad Campus will enable them to launch for-credit online courses including new-age courses, as well as, the college’s core courses in engineering, management, and others.

B2B services will also include providing technology platform and services (course mapping, placements, industry projects, placement services, etc.), all with an aim to make college students employable., it added.

Founded by IIT-graduates, Amit Mahensaria, Alok Choudhary and Manish Kumar, Bengaluru-based Impartus says it has onboarded over 280 higher education institutes, 50,000 teachers, and 6 lakh learners in seven years.

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

“Aligned with our vision, upGrad Campus will bolster our presence in the university education space and help the youth of Bharat learn the necessary skillset to become more employable and join the workforce as leaders of tomorrow,” said Ronnie Screwvala, Chairman & Co-Founder, upGrad.

According to an official statement, this deal will enable upGrad to add up to 50,000 paid learners in the first year of acquisition.

“This acquisition opens up a larger target group, as upGrad Campus will enable both HigherEd institutions and its learners, to get access to world-class learning materials. We welcome the team to upGrad family,” added Gaurav Kumar, President – Corporate Development and M&A, upGrad.

Earlier this year in April, upGrad took a leap towards becoming the next unicorn edtech startup by raising an investment of $120 million from Singapore-based Teamesk.