SKILLING MAGNET UPGRAD AQUIRES 90% STAKE IN INTERNSHALA

India’s upGrad acquires 90% stake in Internshala

Biggest takeover in India in last few months as Internshala being acquired by the Giant UpGrad 

MAIN ARTICLE

India’s online higher education company upGrad announced the acquisition of Internshala, a technology firm focused on recruitment and career placement, also based in India.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. SIA contacted upGrad and Internshala for comment.

In a LinkedIn post, upGrad said the acquisition marked a pivotal step in its mission to close the employability gap in India.

By combining its skilling programmes with Internshala’s expertise in early-career placement, upGrad said it was creating a complete ecosystem for its learners. It added that the integration allows upGrad to “design more intelligent, outcome-first pathways that connect education directly to opportunity”.

Founded in 2010, Internshala has built a community of over 34 million registered users and 450,000 employers, with approximately 3 million active applicants annually. The platform receives most of its traffic organically and serves students across India.

According to a press release, upGrad will acquire a 90% stake in Internshala, which will continue to operate as an independent entity under its founder and CEO, Sarvesh Agrawal.

Meanwhile, upGrad said it would invest additional resources to accelerate product innovation, AI-led talent matching and enterprise hiring models, with the aim of scaling Internshala’s revenue from INR 450 million (USD 4.9 million) to INR 1 billion.

“Education and employment in India have operated in silos for too long. This acquisition allows us to strengthen the earliest layer of the career journey, where intent is highest and outcomes can be meaningful,” Chirag Samdaria, head of corporate strategy and growth at upGrad, said in a press release. “By bridging work opportunities with structured skilling, we are building a more aligned talent ecosystem for both learners and employers.”

Agrawal added that the deal would allow Internshala to “amplify our impact by skilling millions of candidates, offer pre-trained talent to companies at scale and together become the default launchpad for every graduate’s career”.