upGrad acquires KnowledgeHut in push for expansion to new markets

Mumbai headquartered edtech firm upGrad has announced the acquisition of Delaware, US headquartered upskilling platform KnowledgeHut for an undisclosed amount.

The acquisition will help upGrad add short duration upskilling and reskilling segment. 

Founded in 2011 by Subramanyam Reddy, KnowledgeHut offers courses in the fields of sales, operations, marketing, management and consulting. 

Post the acquisition, KnowledgeHut will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of upGrad with Reddy heading the company as CEO. 

“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,” Reddy said in a statement issued by the company. 

KnowledgeHut claims to have a global learner pool of 2.5 lakh and is poised to cross $40 million (Rs 300 crore) in revenue next year, with 65% contribution from geographies including North America, Middle East and South-East Asia.  

“KnowledgeHut’s presence in 70+ countries will further upGrad's ambition of liberalising quality online education around the world,” Ronnie Screwvala, chairperson of upGrad, said in a statement issued by the company.  

KnowledgeHut adds to upGrad’s merger and acquisition based expansion strategy. In July the company had announced that it had earmarked $250 million for M&A deals over the next seven to nine months. 

It said that it will target digital learning providers with mentors and coaches as well as immersive short format learning platforms in markets like Indonesia, Vietnam and across Africa.  

Previously, Temasek backed upGrad had acquired recruitment and staffing startup, Rekrut India and test preparation platform, The Gate Academy in 2020. KnowledgeHut is upGrad’s sixth acquisition since it was founded in 2015 by Screwvala, Mayank Kumar and Phalgun Kompalli.