Eruditus, the global leader in making high-quality education accessible and affordable to individuals, companies, and governments around the world, has recently announced that it has raised $150 million in a Series F funding round led by TPG’s The Rise Fund, the multi-sector strategy of TPG’s global impact investing platform, with participation from existing investors Softbank Vision Fund 2, Leeds Illuminate, Accel, CPP Investments and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
Co-founded in 2010 by Chaitanya Kalipatnapu and Ashwin Damera, Eruditus offers online courses from prestigious global business schools such as Columbia, MIT, London Business School, Harvard Business School in areas like artificial intelligence, data science and data coding. The company has partnered with over 80 universities globally, offering a range of programmes including short courses, degree programmes, and professional certificates. With its unique model of state-of-the-art technology, curriculum innovation, and hands-on instruction from senior faculty, mentors, and coaches, it claims to have educated more than 350,000 individuals across 80+ countries.
Speaking on the fundraising, Co-founder & CEO of Eruditus, Ashwin Damera, said:
With this investment, we’re excited to continue to grow and innovate to meet market demand. In a rapidly evolving business environment, we have reimagined education by bringing programmes from the world’s leading universities to learners around the globe. Education is the key to transformation for individuals, companies, and society, and we appreciate the support of our investors who enable us to accelerate our growth.
The Eruditus Group employs over 1,750 people worldwide and has offices in Mumbai, New Delhi, Shanghai, Singapore, Palo Alto, Mexico City, New York, Boston, London, and Dubai.
Steve Ellis, a managing partner of The Rise Funds, added:
Eruditus is expanding access to new education opportunities and giving professionals at all stages of their careers the skills they need to advance and succeed in today’s rapidly changing workplace. Eruditus’ mission aligns with a core investing theme for The Rise Funds, which focuses on backing strong businesses that are opening pathways to high-quality education and driving greater lifetime earning potential for their students. We look forward to working with Eruditus to enhance the platform further and scale the business globally. TPG’s Simit Batra will join Eruditus’ board of directors as part of The Rise Fund’s investment.
The latest development highlights the company’s remarkable growth and impact through continuous innovation in high-quality career-oriented education worldwide. The raise comes on the heels of a banner year for Eruditus, in which the company was named the #1 Global EdTech by Time and achieved profitability on a full-year basis.
With this funding, Eruditus plans to bolster its global growth and invest in AI technology to enrich the learner experience, expand its rapidly growing business serving governments and enterprises, and deepen its investments in the Indian and APAC regions. As the firm continues to grow and scale, it eyes future acquisitions and investments, which have historically contributed to impressive topline growth and expansion in strategic markets. Avendus Capital was the exclusive financial advisor for the fundraiser.
The Mumbai-based firm has raised an equity round after more than three years of gap. It previously raised $350 million in debt back in March 2022. During the $650 million equity round in August 2021, the company also entered the coveted club of unicorns.