upGrad Education Private Limited

What does upGrad own?

upGrad owns its flagship education platform plus the businesses acquired through Unacademy: the Unacademy test-prep brand, PrepLadder, Graphy, and Airlearn, plus the Atlas University operation.

Is upGrad publicly traded?

No. upGrad is privately held, though the company has stated an ambition to list on public markets within roughly 18 months of 2026.

Who founded upGrad?

Ronnie Screwvala, Mayank Kumar, Phalgun Kompalli, and Ravijot Chugh founded upGrad in Mumbai in 2015. Screwvala, who previously built and sold UTV to Disney, serves as chairperson and holds approximately 45 percent with his family.

Where is upGrad headquartered?

upGrad Education Private Limited is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

How many brands does upGrad own?

Approximately six, including the flagship upGrad brand plus Unacademy, PrepLadder, Graphy, and Airlearn from the September 2026 acquisition, and Atlas University.

Who owns upGrad?

Ronnie Screwvala and family hold approximately 45 percent. Temasek is the largest external investor at roughly 20.5 percent. Unacademy's former investors, including SoftBank and Tiger Global, became shareholders through the September 2026 all-stock deal.

What is upGrad's revenue?

FY2025 operating revenue was approximately 1,569 crore rupees with gross revenue of 1,943 crore. The company estimated FY2026 revenue near 1,972 crore with positive profit after tax.

Ronnie Screwvala founded upGrad in Mumbai in March 2015 with co-founders Mayank Kumar, Phalgun Kompalli, and Ravijot Chugh. Screwvala brought a track record of building and selling media businesses; the founding thesis was that India's professional education gap could be served online at scale, targeting working adults rather than school students.

The company's original model was structured online programs in partnership with universities: data science, management, and technology courses for professionals seeking credentials without leaving employment. Early partnerships with Indian and international universities established the degree-linked program format that remains the business core.

Unlike the consumer edtech companies that boomed and collapsed, upGrad grew along an enterprise and credential path, adding study-abroad services, corporate skilling contracts, and eventually physical infrastructure through Experience Centres and its own Atlas University operation, which grew to roughly 7,500 students and gained NAAC accreditation enabling online program delivery.

Funding was comparatively restrained. The company raised more than $320 million across its history, with Temasek's $60 million investment at a flat $2.25 billion valuation among the last major rounds. By FY2025 the company reported gross revenue of 1,943 crore rupees and turned EBITDA positive at 15 crore rupees, with a further 556 crore in collected but unrecognized revenue for future periods.

The defining corporate event came in 2025 and 2026: the pursuit and acquisition of Unacademy. Talks began in November 2025, stalled over price, resumed with a March 2026 term sheet for a 100 percent share swap, received Competition Commission of India approval on July 7, 2026, and closed September 1, 2026, at approximately $206 million. The deal added India's largest test-prep brand, PrepLadder's medical exam business, the Graphy creator platform, and the Airlearn language app to the upGrad portfolio. The company has signaled continued acquisition appetite as it builds toward a public listing.

upGrad's public record is comparatively clean relative to Indian edtech peers. The company has faced standard sector criticisms around sales practices and course outcome claims, but no regulatory enforcement actions or accounting controversies are on record.

The Unacademy transaction attracted scrutiny primarily for its valuation dynamics: paying approximately $206 million for a company once valued at $3.44 billion, with the all-stock structure transferring the write-down to Unacademy's former investors, who received upGrad equity rather than cash. The Competition Commission of India cleared the deal without conditions.