Upskilling unicorn upGrad’s chief executive officer Arjun Mohan has resigned after a nearly three-year stint, underscoring growing stress on edtech startups in a post-covid business environment with reopening of educational institutions.
“I am currently in an exploration phase and figuring out the next steps as in if I will join an organization or start something of my own,” Mohan said, adding that 15 January will be his last day in the company.
“I started my journey in education sector in the year 2008 and believe that still there is a lot more to be done to solve the persistent problems of access, affordability and quality,” he said in a LinkedIn post. In a separate statement, Mohan said he would continue working in the edtech and education space.
A spokesperson for upGrad confirmed the development.
Mohan’s replacement could not be ascertained.
The edtech startup, led by Ronnie Screwvala, Mayank Kumar and Phalgun Kompalli, onboarded Mohan as the CEO in April 2020. He earlier worked as the chief business officer at edtech firm Byju’s, as per his LinkedIn profile.
Operated by upGrad Education Pvt. Ltd, upGrad posted a loss of Rs 626.6 crore in FY22, sharply widening from a Rs 211.1 crore loss in the previous year. This was mainly due to a more than 2.5 times jump in expenses to Rs 1,300.6 crore from Rs 513.8 crore during the period.
Mohan’s exit follows upGrad’s investment of Rs 30 crore in December with an aim to grow its product vertical under the TuringMinds brand.
The vertical was set up in 2021 to cater to increasing traction from enterprises for outsourced research and product development.
The company had raised $210 million in a funding round in August last year, led by ETS Global and Bodhi Tree, at a valuation of $2.25 billion.