Ed-tech startup Simplilearn aims to more than triple revenue by 2021

E-learning and corporate training firm Simplilearn Solutions Pvt. Ltd said on Thursday it aims to achieve Rs 500 crore in revenue by 2021 as it strengthens its online operations and enterprise offerings.

The San Francisco- and Bengaluru-based company said in a statement that it recorded revenue of Rs 149 crore ($21.2 million) for the financial year 2017-18.

To achieve its revenue target, the ed-tech player said it focus on developing its curriculum in new areas such as cloud, data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence. It also plans to expand its footprint in the US and Singapore as well as in Indian cities like Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Kolkata, Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai where the K12 segment is most competitive. It claims that over 60% of its business comes from the international market.

In 2016, Simplilearn appointed Mark Moran, the former marketing honcho at cashback shopping website Ebates, in order to tap the US market.

“There is great demand for digital skilling certification courses amongst individual professionals and enterprises,” said Krishna Kumar, founder and chief executive of Simplilearn.

“We are committed to helping India build a relevant, future-ready digital workforce in the next five years as our [Indian] economy and the whole world goes digital,” he added.

Earlier this year, Simplilearn signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), following which 33 of its courses were accredited by the government institution. By virtue of the accreditation, Simplilearn became a contributor to the government’s Skill India programme.

Last year, New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)-listed global professional services firm Genpact partnered with Simplilearn as part of its learning initiative, Education@Work.

Simplilearn was founded in 2010 by Kumar a BE in electronics and communication from the National Institute of Technology, Karnataka. The company offers courses both online and offline in areas like project management, Big Data and analytics, virtualisation and cloud, IT service management, Microsoft certification, quality management, and financial management, among others.

The company says it is now engaged in working with over 200 enterprises across the world and is upskilling over 300,000 learners.

In April 2015, it raised $15 million in a Series C round led by Mayfield, with participation from existing investors Kalaari Capital and Helion Ventures.

In September 2016, it raised $6 million in venture debt from InnoVen Capital.

In 2017, Simplilearn won the NewsCorp VCCircle Education Company of the Year award.