Programs and Services

• UpGrad’s range of programs consists of digital marketing, product management, entrepreneurship, data analytics, data-driven management, and digital technology management. It offers industry insights and student support services.
•  According to upGrad, in 2019 they launched an online MBA program, acquired the accreditation of the National Skill Development Corporation, was selected by the AICTE to deliver deep tech skills in India, partnered with Duke Corporate Education which is the executive education arm of Duke University to launch a Product Management Certification program, and announced a scholarship program in association with OYO back in March 2019. The OYO upGrad scholarship will offer a 50% fee waiver to 2nd-year students who will choose career programs in Full Stack Development and Data Science. The scholarship will be provided to 3000 students.

Revenue

• upGrad is a private company.

• According to Zoominfo, upGrad had revenues of $33 million and has 174 employees.
•  This source asserts that upGrad doubled revenue per quarter, and is predicted to close FY’21 with an INR 1200 crore run rate.
• upGrad has, during COVID-19, "on-boarded over 100 colleges and universities onto their platform paving the way for further evangelizing blended online learning as the future of education."
• upGrad recorded a 113% rise in gross revenue in FY19. In just one year, upGrad’s gross revenue jumped from ₹57 crore (as of 2018) to ₹121 crore in 2019.

Growth

• Their Gross Student Revenue is "INR 50 Crore/month for the month of June’20 that is predicted to grow to INR 100 Crore/month by September’20, and will close at INR 200 Crore/month by March’21. This means that they will cross a INR 1200 crore annual run rate by end of this fiscal year. The company also self reported that while it reported a small loss in Q1 of this year due to its high investments for their upcoming launches, they would be profitable from the 2nd quarter of this financial year."
•  According to upGrad, they acquired product management community startup CohortPlus in 2019 and they state that they have "empowered more than 10,000 students."

Growth Strategy

• They self report that their 4 strategic initiatives are: "(1) Launching 35 new diverse online programs in the next few months (2) All their 90 online programs to have a start date of every month, versuss every quarter as done previously, to cope with the growing demand (3) Being the first in India to enable degrees with universities through blended online degree programs (4) Strengthening the global footprint by targeting the 40 million South Asian migrant population worldwide."

Marketing Strategy

• With actor Vicky Kaushal as the brand ambassador, upGrad unveiled its first ad campaign with the hope to "showcase how online education is as effective as classroom education. The short ad introduces consumers to upGrad and brings to light its unique power learning approach."
• The ultimate goal of the ad is to "establish the fact that in this fast-changing world of technology, there’s a massive demand for new-age skills in the workplace. And the only way to go higher up the career ladder is by upskilling."

Summary Of Our Early Findings Relevant To The Goals

• Our initial hour of research provided some preliminary information and data surrounding upGrad's programs and services, revenue, year over year growth, growth strategy, and marketing strategy. While marketing strategy was not asked for, we felt it might be interesting and relevant.
• Their pricing strategy does not appear to be publicly available after searching. We are suggesting that this not be pursued further, and our scoping reflects that.
• They do not have a client list, but as an educational platform, they do have partnerships and information as to where their graduates end up working. This will be reflected in our scoping.
• Please select one or more of the options provided in the proposed scoping section below.