Edtech Unicorn upGrad Acquires WOLVES India To Strengthen Tech Placement Portfolio

upGrad Rekrut, a 100% subsidiary of edtech unicorn upGrad has acquired WOLVES India, a recruitment and staffing company for an undisclosed amount.

According to the companies, WOLVES India will continue to operate independently under the leadership of its founder Raghu S.

Founded in 2015, WOLVES India helps with talent recruitment across tech startups in the country, along with multiple mid and large organisations in India and abroad. The company claims to have closed more than 5,000 placements in tech and product roles. WOLVES India offers a proprietary product, Quasara, to help global businesses to set up offshore offices.

Mayank Kumar, upGrad cofounder & MD, said, “Our acquisitions reflect our commitment to drive career outcomes for our learners. While with upGrad Rekrut we saw our learners receiving record-breaking CTCs during FY22, the joining of WOLVES India will give us an edge in the tech ecosystem. It shall foster wider employment opportunities for our learners in the form of highly paid tech roles and enhanced career acceleration.” 

According to upGrad, India’s tech industry will continue to see demand for skilled talent and is expected to become a $350 Bn market by FY26.

Ajay Shah and Husain Tinwala, founders of upGrad Rekrut, said, “We are thrilled to welcome Raghu and his team on board to partner with upGrad Rekrut to offer an enhanced placement portfolio, thus enabling upGrad learners with the Tech jobs of tomorrow. This aligns with our ambition of becoming the global talent superpower in the next few years.”

Raghu S, founder and director of WOLVES India, added, “I’m confident that WOLVES India will support upGrad to present world-class tech job opportunities to its learners and together with upGrad Rekrut create a market leader in tech hiring.”

upGrad’s Bid To Venture Into Other Verticals Via Acquisitions

With the acquisition of WOLVES India, upGrad has completed three acquisitions in the last seven months. The edtech startup raised $225 Mn a month ago, taking its valuation to well over $2.25 Bn. 

While upGrad is also looking to raise a further $100 Mn, the edtech startup has been investing the funds it raises to expand inorganically in other verticals via acquisitions.

Interestingly, upGrad’s modus operandi when it picks up startups is to engage in a share-swap deal. In that way, it has acquired two startups, Gurugram-based higher education startup Talentedge and the International School of Engineering (INSOFE). The two companies received shares in upGrad worth $27 Mn and $33 Mn, respectively.

upGrad also picked up enterprise learning and development startup Work Better in early January 2022 to expand into B2B learning offerings.

The Mumbai-based edtech startup has been making consolidation moves in the market as it posted a consolidated loss after tax of INR 211 Cr in FY21, a 167.8% rise from INR 78.8 Cr it recorded in FY20. At the same time, it posted a consolidated revenue worth INR 302 Cr from its operations, a 86% rise from the INR 162.3 Cr it posted in FY20.

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