Upskilling unicorn upGrad, operated by UpGrad Education Pvt. Ltd, on Thursday said it has invested Rs 30 crore with an aim to strengthen its product vertical under brand TuringMinds.
TuringMinds was set up last year to cater to the increasing traction from enterprises for outsourced research and product development, leveraging this one-of-its-kind scholar pool, the company said in a statement.
Currently it operates with over 15 offline facilities in the US, India, Europe, UK and West Asia. Besides, with its offices in Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Detroit, which house close to 250 product engineers, the brand aims to doubles its headcount in the next quarter.
The latest investment comes month after the Mumbai-based upGrad had announced its foray into the offline higher education space. The startup will be investing $30 million in setting up of ten global campuses across India, US and other regions under its new brand UGDX, next year.
“The fresh capital infusion will help TuringMinds to build a strong product development ecosystem. We also target expansion of our operations across North America and West Asian countries due to excellent traction from these markets,” said Dakshinamurthy V Kolluru, CEO of UGDX and TuringMinds.
upGrad was founded in 2015 by Ronnie Screwvala, Mayank Kumar and Phalgun Kompalli. It has been bullish on its acquisition strategy to grow its user base and adjacencies in other verticals including test-prep.
“In addition to our LifeLongLearning suite, we are hiring bachelor’s to doctorate degree holders in large numbers to fuel our mission of developing full-fledged marketable products. This further gives One upGrad an edge over its peers and strengthens our stature as the key employment enabler within the country,” said Screwvala.
Meanwhile, the edtech industry, which boomed during the pandemic as teaching moved online, is facing a major funding crunch and moderation in valuations with the reopening of educational institutions. With a focus on conserving costs, several startups have resorted to mass layoffs and cutting discretionary spending.
