Mayank Kumar, managing director and co-founder of upGrad, had said in July that the higher education and upskilling space was counter-cyclical—during times of job losses and recessionary fears, learners tend to upskill. Kumar seems to have a point as companies like upGrad, Scaler Academy, Eruditus and Masai School seem to have been less affected amid this slowdown.

Higher edtech platform Simplilearn, promoted by private equity firm Blackstone, has raised $45 million in a new funding round led by GSV Ventures at an undisclosed valuation, as competition intensifies in the higher learning and upskilling space amid a downturn in online learning. Simplilearn said it would use the funds to boost its growth plans in India and international markets.

“We continue to witness the accelerated need for a digitally skilled workforce across industries and Simplilearn continues to be focused on bridging the digital skill gap,” founder and chief executive officer Krishna Kumar said. Kumar said they were grateful for how far the company had come and the Blackstone investment in 2021 came at an ideal time to boost its growth globally.

Founded in 2010, Simplilearn offers digital skilling programs for professionals, enabling them to upskill and get certified in fast-growing digital domains. The company creates these programs in collaboration with educational institutions including Caltech CTME, MIT Schwarzman College of Computing, UMass Amherst and the Isenberg School of Management, Purdue University, Wharton Online, IIT-Roorkee, and IIT-Kanpur, and companies such as IBM, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and KPMG.

Simplilearn claims to have added more than 120,000 paid business-to-consumer (B2C) learners, and more than 100,000 enterprise learners on its platform. It also claims to have more than 2 million free learners on its SkillUp platform.

In July 2021, Blackstone acquired a majority stake in Simplilearn. The company recorded a 35 percent growth in its revenue in FY21 (2020-21) on a consolidated basis to Rs 346 crore. However, it reported a loss of Rs 5.7 crore for the year, against a profit of Rs 1.4 crore in FY20 (2019-20). The company is yet to file its results for the financial year 2021-22.

Against the tide

Simplilearn’s fundraise comes at a time when its rivals in the upskilling and higher edtech space such as Ronnie Screwvala’s upGrad, SoftBank-backed Eruditus, and Tiger Global-backed Scaler are witnessing strong growth even as demand for online K-12 (kindergarten to class 12) sector is falling with the reopening of schools, colleges, and tuition centers.

Mayank Kumar, managing director and co-founder of upGrad, had said in July that the higher education and upskilling space was counter-cyclical—during times of job losses and recessionary fears, learners tend to upskill. Kumar seems to have a point as companies like upGrad, Scaler Academy, Eruditus and Masai School seem to have been less affected amid this slowdown.

Eruditus expects its FY23 (2022-23) booking revenue to double on a year-on-year basis, Damera said in a media interview in June. Kumar of upGrad had also said that he sees upGrad’s revenue growing 100 percent in FY22 (2021-22) and FY23. Eruditus had earmarked $1 billion for mergers and acquisitions for 2022. The company also raised $350 million in overseas acquisition debt financing from the CPPIB (Canada Pension Plan Investment Board).

upGrad has also been on an acquisition spree. The company has acquired more than 13 companies since the start of 2022. It also doubled its valuation after raising $210 million in what was one of the largest funding rounds raised by Indian edtech companies in 2022.

Tiger Global-backed Scaler had also told media that it will be earmarking $50 million for mergers and acquisitions for FY23. Scaler’s annual revenue run rate (ARR) topped $110 million as of August 2022. The company also plans to hire 600 employees this year, it said.

The Kunal Shah-backed Masai School, meanwhile, said that it would add newer courses and expanding existing categories. Masai School recently raised $10 million in its Series B funding round led by Omidyar Network India and onboarded cricketer Mithali Raj and footballer Bhaichung Bhutia as strategic investors.