upGrad, the edtech platform focused on higher education, is acquiring KnowledgeHut to expand its offerings and help it capture a bigger chunk of the fledging edtech market, which has grown by unimaginative degrees over the last year.
The financial details of the acquisition have not been made public.
KnowledgeHut operates a short term upskilling-reskilling platform, allowing the workforce to access outcome based training programmes. With this, the company aims to empower employees by helping them prepare for the jobs of tomorrow in a fast paced industry that’s rapidly changing.
The platform looks to impart real life knowledge to candidates by providing them “Work like” experiences, helping them solve problems that tech companies encounter on the daily.
On the other hand, it also allows companies to gain access to advanced insights, helping them get a quantified view of their team’s skills.
Today, KnowledgeHut has access to a global learner pool of 250,000, and services over 500 enterprises through its 200+ courses in the areas of Web Development, Machine Learning/AI and Data Science, Agile and Project Management, IT Service Management, Cyber Security, and Cloud Computing.
With this acquisition, upGrad aims to speed up international expansion, especially in North America, Middle East, and South-East Asia, where Knowledge Hut already has users.
This does not seem surprising at all, as upGrad had raised $250Mn in a funding round just a few weeks ago, announcing that it will use the money to fund inorganic growth. Thus, acquiring a platform like KnowledgeHut, which not only allows it to enter new markets but a new vertical as well, seems like a smart choice.
“With KnowledgeHut on board, our focus on being an integrated ‘LifeLongLearning’ partner for powering career success for the global one billion workforce just got stronger. KnowledgeHut’s presence in 70+ countries will further upGrad’s ambition of liberalising quality online education around the world,” said upGrad Founder and Chairman Ronnie Screwvala.
As part of this acquisition, KnowledgeHut, which will now be rebranded as ‘KnowledgeHut-an upGrad company’ will continue to operate as a separate entity. Founder Subramanyam Reddy will be at the helm of the newly merged company as its CEO, which is expected to clock a revenue of $40Mn in the next year (65% of which will come from North America, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia).
Commenting on the acquisition, Reddy 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.”
