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Business Standard
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Trump tariff hike to 50% on Indian goods sparks calls for self-reliance
US President Donald Trump's executive order imposing an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian goods—bringing the effective rate to 50 per cent on key exports—has prompted Indian entrepreneurs and startup leaders to call for greater economic independence and reduced reliance on US markets. The tariff escalation, which doubles existing trade barriers, threatens to disrupt India's $80 billion annual exports to the United States and could particularly impact the country's burgeoning technology and e-commerce sectors. Analysts warn that Indian startups with significant US exposure may face immediate headwinds, while companies dependent on American components or customers could see margins compressed. The move has galvanised prominent Indian business leaders to advocate for a more self-reliant economic strategy. Zomato Chief Executive Deepinder Goyal said the tariffs represent a broader pattern of global powers attempting to constrain India's growth ambitions. 'Global powers will always bully us, unless we take our destiny in our own hands,' Goyal wrote in a LinkedIn post, calling for India to "become the world's largest, most unapologetic superpower" in economy and technology. Ronnie Screwvala, founder of education technology company upGrad, characterised the US as a 'fair-weather country' and urged Indian entrepreneurs to view the trade tensions as an opportunity to strengthen domestic markets and reduce foreign dependence. He called for unleashing entrepreneurship to build India's consumption story, particularly by targeting the country's 600 million rural population. The tariff increase comes as India's startup ecosystem has grown increasingly integrated with global supply chains and US investment flows, raising questions about how quickly companies can pivot toward domestic and alternative international markets. Indian exporters are possibly set to face a setback from the US's latest tariff hikes, which will be implemented in two phases—an additional 25 per cent from 8 August and increased to 50 per cent by 27 August, according to consulting firm EY. 'These sharp increases in import duties are expected to affect not only traditional sectors but also India's growing startup ecosystem, with startups in skincare, wellness, personal care and FMCG among those particularly impacted,' said Vimal Pruthi, partner, international trade, EY India. Pruthi said Indian textiles may lose price competitiveness, as Bangladesh and Vietnam face only 20 per cent tariffs—far lower than India's revised 59 per cent. Similarly, Indian marine exports risk losing US market share with tariffs rising to 58.26 per cent, while countries like Ecuador face just 15 per cent. A jump to 52 per cent duty on gems and jewellery could shift US sourcing to China and the UAE, which face much lower tariffs. He added that the recent tariffs pose challenges for Indian electronics and IT hardware exports by potentially increasing costs and affecting competitiveness. While IT services aren't directly impacted, Pruthi said the measures may discourage foreign investment in Indian tech manufacturing. 'The long-term effects will largely depend on trade negotiations and India's success in diversifying its export markets,' he said. Jaideep Kewalramani, head of the employability business and chief operating officer at TeamLease EdTech, said the new tariffs threaten to erode profit margins and competitiveness for startups in technology, food and beverage, textiles and jewellery. 'With this change, margin absorption becomes an impossibility, and the bulk of the load will move to the consumer, pushing them toward alternate providers,' said Kewalramani. 'Most players will lose out right out of the gate when marketplace algorithms downgrade their products due to pricing. Someone who was selling, let's say, tea at $9.99, will fall off the grid.' He said startups can find alternate markets, but the next few days will require significant adjustment. 'The worry is that cash-strapped startups should not go under before they can pivot. The entire ecosystem—venture capitalists, bankers, advisors, supply chain providers, platforms et al—must come together to ensure startups can weather this storm,' Kewalramani added. Vijay Kumar, CEO of the Express Industry Council of India, said once the tariffs kick in, sectors like garments, auto components, leather and handicrafts—served by the express industry—could be impacted. 'There is no doubt that the impact would be substantial if and when the additional 25 per cent becomes effective,' Kumar said. India has been focused on the China+1 strategy for the past two to three years, with several startups engaging in contract manufacturing across sectors to serve export markets. Several marketplaces have also emerged targeting this corridor. 'Some of these will need to recalibrate their business models to align with the new world view—more focus on domestic consumption, more streamlined supply chains, and diversification of target markets to navigate the recent turbulence,' said Pearl Agarwal, founder and managing partner at Eximius Ventures. However, she added that enterprise SaaS and tech companies remain relatively insulated. 'As a VC, we are diligently watching the foreign exchange rate as well, given that the capital supply for this sector has historically been global.'
Hindustan Times
15-07-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Skilling is getting more personal for young Indians
A quiet shift is underway across India's professional landscape, and it's being led not by policy or corporates, but by the country's 21 to 30-year-olds. Skilling, in this new-age has become a personal revolution to navigate a world of rapid change, economic volatility, and AI-fuelled disruption. Over the past year alone, more than 160,000 working professionals - many of them in their early-and mid-career years (21 to mid-30s) - enrolled in university-backed, job-linked certifications outside of traditional higher education. And more tellingly, nearly two-thirds say they are preparing for jobs that didn't even exist when they entered college. This is not a generational quirk - it's a workforce evolution in motion. As India positions itself as a global AI and digital talent hub, professionals' upskilling patterns are offering an early glimpse into the future of work. The trends emerging from their learning behaviour suggest a deep shift - from passive learning to career-first skilling, from technical narrowness to cross-functional depth, and from job-seeking to future-building. Just to quote an example, upGrad and Microsoft jointly launched U&AI Certification and just about in two months, we saw about 60,000 individuals signing up for it - what does it say? As industries brace for the next wave of AI-led disruption, the way we skill, reskill, and upskill must evolve just as rapidly. AI today is raising critical questions about access, equity, and accountability. In this new era, future readiness isn't about mastering tools - it's about understanding the systems they shape. This World Youth Skills Day, here are nine high-velocity skills that India's youth are betting on in 2025. To ground this trend in real-world behaviour, we mapped these insights against anonymised data from upGrad's learner ecosystem and talent placement conversations - and the alignment is striking. Prompt engineering for everyone: No longer just a niche developer skill, prompt engineering is becoming a foundational capability across roles - from designers to product managers. The ability to instruct AI with precision, context, and intent is fast becoming the new digital and Agentic AI Data engineers: Data is only as good as its pipelines. While data science is maturing, data engineering is exploding. Professionals are skilling up in ETL processes, cloud data architecture, and workflow orchestration tools—becoming the hidden backbone of AI delivery. GenAI & Agentic AI: Professionals are going beyond playing with tools like ChatGPT. They're building with them—using LangChain, vector databases, and autonomous AI agents. Whether it's automating customer queries or generating code, this is where GenAI moves from gimmick to game-changer. Machine Learning (ML) Ops: Models are easy. Scaling them is hard. That's where ML Ops comes in. From model deployment to performance monitoring, this emerging field is seeing massive learner interest, especially among those with prior DevOps or analytics experience. AI Auditor: Bias. Deepfakes. Data misuse. India's young professionals are increasingly asking not just how AI works—but whether it should work that way. Courses combining AI, ethics, and policy are seeing a strong uptick, driven by roles emerging in AI governance and compliance. Data science & data storytelling: It's no longer enough to know data - individuals need to make it persuasive. Skills like narrative visualisation, decision mapping, and dashboard design are turning analysts into strategic storytellers. Digital marketing + AI-enhanced Content Creation: Content creation is being transformed by GenAI. Today's marketers are learning how to blend creativity with machine-scale productivity, using automation tools to stay ahead of the attention curve. Martech stack mastery: As the name suggests, quite literally. Performance-driven marketing is going full stack. Youth professionals are upskilling in CRM workflows, attribution tools, automation engines, and how to use AI to unlock conversion metrics. Vibe code product building: Startup spirit, without the burn rate. Young professionals—even non-tech ones—are building MVPs using no-code tools like Bubble, Glide, or Webflow. These tools are also launching them into product-led growth roles in companies that value lean innovation. Other issues that can be addressed are: Rethink JD requirements: Replace rigid degrees with skill-first hiring criteria. Micro-certifications in GenAI, Data, and Martech are real indicators of on-ground capability. Invest in internal upskilling: Don't wait for talent to arrive fully formed. Adopt short-term, stackable programmes tailored for emerging roles like ML Ops, AI Governance, or No-Code Product Management. Create Project-based opportunities: Young professionals thrive when they can apply what they learn. Design cross-functional pilots or sandbox environments for them to test new skills in real settings. Break the experience bias: Park lateral positions into a shared hiring pool and give managers the flexibility to consider high-potential freshers. Create incentives for teams that take a bet on entry-level hires and develop them into future-ready talent. Recognise new-age credentials: Certifications from credible skilltech/Edtech-university collaborations (like upGrad's Microsoft & NSDC U&AI) often outrank generic programmes in relevance. Recognise them during hiring and appraisals. Build GenZ learning cultures: This generation learns by doing, sharing, and iterating. Embed learning into workflows through hackathons, AI sprints, peer learning clubs, and innovation pods. This article is authored by Husain Tinwala, president, upGrad Rekrut.
Hindustan Times
28-06-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Startup Mantra: Giving nurses wings
Pune: After spending 10 years with his earlier venture upGrad, Mayank Kumar left in October 2024 to start another company — BorderPlus — with his co-founder Ayush Mathur (who was earlier with OYO). The genesis of BorderPlus began when Mayank was in Germany and happened to visit an old age home. Lack of healthcare professionals at a foreign country triggered Ayush to set up his second startup BorderPlus that aims to meet the increasing demand for skilled nurses in Europe to begin with. (AP (PIC FOR REPRESENTATION)) 'I noticed there that despite having capacity they could absorb maybe 70%-80% elderly people. The reason? They lacked staff that could care for them. This was the case in most of the old age homes there. While their population was growing old, they did not have enough young, able-bodied people to look after them. Also, about 90% of the residents were women. And besides having someone to care for them, they wanted a person who they could talk to, someone to share their day with. And, unfortunately, this was missing.' 'To address this demographic crisis – this huge shortfall of caregivers, in such homes, Germany was planning to hire thousands of Indian nurses over the next few years.' And so, Mayank's entrepreneurial mind began to work in overdrive. 'This was something we noticed in countries around the world. They were struggling to find skilled workers, especially in healthcare, logistics, and construction. A key driver of this shortage is the aging population in many developed nations. In Japan, nearly 30% of the population is over 65. Germany isn't far behind, with 22% of its population in the same age bracket. As older populations grow and birth rates decline, the pressure on essential services, especially healthcare, is increasing sharply. At the same time, India has a large, young, and trained talent pool. But most people don't have access to the right support systems to take their skills global,' he said. This was an opportunity knocking at the door. Mayank Kumar (HT) Mayank set out to build a solution for this need. He met with several stakeholders across countries- hospital recruiters, healthcare administrators, and policymakers. 'What we consistently heard was that the talent gap wasn't just about skills or degrees. It was about language proficiency and real-world readiness.' Mayank understood that to serve the need in those countries he had do more than just send out blue-collar workers on the next plane to Germany. 'There's no shortage of qualified professionals in India. But without strong language training, cultural preparation, and the ability to meet local standards, most would never get access to global opportunities.' And so, he got down to fill that gap in their qualification. 'That's when we realised that if we could integrate a finishing school with language training, career support, and employer demand and layer it with technology for scale and credibility, we could build something truly transformative. A platform that doesn't just move people, but prepares them to stay, grow, and thrive in their new environments. Getting down to work Simply getting blue-collar workers jobs abroad was not the goal was obvious. They had to be trained like in a finishing school. They had to have fluency in the foreign language, understand their customs and culture, get assistance with various legal procedures, be able to crack the visa interviews. BorderPlus helps people build global careers, not just get jobs abroad. Mayank said, 'Finishing school helps train participants in German language and healthcare-specific communication, prepare for cultural and professional expectations, help with documents, interviews, and visa paperwork, and connect to employers abroad.' With his tech skills and upGrad experience, Mayank devised an AI tool that can teach nurses German in 750 to 800 hours. 'If they put in five to six hours every weekday they can learn the language in seven months to about a year. Our AI-powered training platform supports learners with personalised feedback, real-time pronunciation correction, and self-paced practice modules. It complements the finishing school experience and makes sure candidates can build fluency and confidence even outside the classroom.' The programme fee for nurses is ₹ 2 lakh and the amount is reimbursed either through a BorderPlus scholarship or relocation support. 'Our revenue model is employer-based, meaning we only earn when a hospital or recruiter successfully hires someone we've trained,' he said. BorderPlus charges employers ₹ 4 lakh to ₹ 12 lakh per worker placed. Building the platform Since both the founders come with prior entrepreneurial background, assembling a strong early team and raising capital was not their biggest challenge. Mayank, 'What mattered more was to have clarity - a clear understanding of the problem, the systems we needed to build, and how to solve it meaningfully at scale. The real work now is focused execution, integrating training, tech, and compliance into one seamless experience for both candidates and employers. We're building for trust and long-term impact, and that takes time. We're not just trying to scale, we're trying to solve the problem in a way that actually works for everyone involved. We're still building it and there's a lot more work ahead.' The money story Up until now Mayank and his co-founder Ayush started with founder capital of ₹ 1 crore and a few small grants, keeping it lean and intentional. In February 2025, they raised $7 million in their first institutional round. Owl Ventures led the round, with support from investors like Binny Bansal, Ritesh Agarwal, Mithun Sacheti, Apoorva Patni, and Aakash Chaudhary. 'The funds are going into scaling our finishing school model, building AI-led tools like a language bot, expanding to new sectors, and setting up more training hubs across India and beyond.' Ayush Mathur (HT) Each candidate contributes roughly 40%–50% margin after accounting for costs. 'The current focus is on optimising delivery while maintaining quality and compliance.' In their first batch they enrolled 150 nurses who will complete their course in October-November this year. 'Even before our batch closure we are seeing our nurses getting placed.' The country in focus is Germany but plans are afoot to cater to Japan, the UK, Canada, Europe, GCC. Competition Mayank is not unduly concerned about competition because he knows that at the moment there aren't many players who provide the kind of services that they do. 'There are players who focus on either recruitment or training, but not many who do both in a structured, end-to-end way. What sets us apart is our full-stack approach. We don't just find people jobs, we train them, prepare them, and support them all the way. It's about outcomes, not just placements.' Plans to scale Their training hubs are in Pune and Kochi. This 'finishing school' model takes a candidate from language and soft skills to culture and documentation. It runs through both physical hubs and digital tools like AI-led language bots and modular training content. Parallelly, they are working closely with employers, hospitals and governments in their destination countries. The big picture According to Mayank, 'The global demand for skilled professionals, especially in healthcare, is not just large, it's also accelerating. The World Health Organization projects a global shortfall of 4.5 million nurses by 2030. Countries like Germany, Italy, Japan, and the UK are actively expanding visa routes and relaxing norms to bring in foreign talent, with India emerging as a preferred source due to the strong reputation of its nurses. India has a growing, young workforce, but most lack access to structured global pathways. That's the gap we're solving. 'We're building structured global careers backed by training, technology, and trust. Our goal is to create 42 mobility routes across sectors, beginning with healthcare and soon expanding into other high-demand fields like logistics and construction. 'Our model is vertically integrated from language training and cultural preparation to documentation, placement, and post-arrival support. For destination countries, that means better-prepared, longer-retaining talent. For candidates, it means a smoother, more supported journey to global opportunity,' he said. Future plans BorderPlus has seen a 20%-30% increase in demand for nurses since its launch in January this year. 'We're setting up more hubs across Delhi NCR, the North East, and South India, and expanding quickly through a franchise model. We're also scaling in the Philippines and Brazil, and actively training 150+ nurses there right now. The goal is to train 100,000 nurses in the next few months. And we're also exploring strategic partnerships and acquisitions to grow faster in key regions.' Mayank and Ayush have set their sights across the globe. Time will tell how this will play out for India's blue-collared workers.
Mint
15-06-2025
- Business
- Mint
After edtech crash, study-abroad was the bright spot. Now, it faces testing times
Bengaluru: Samarth G.S., 25, hasn't been to his hometown, in Karnataka, in nearly two years. But not for the usual reasons. Last year, he stayed back in the US to look for an internship. This year, even though he has one, he's hesitating because of tightening visa regulations. 'The situation is dicey here," said Samarth, who is studying for a masters degree. With only a brief window between the end of his internship and the start of the next academic term, he's worried that even a slight delay in returning could put his visa at risk. 'Even if I come back a day late, they might use it as an excuse to cancel my visa," he said, referring to US President's Donald Trump regime. Even when they are travelling within the US, universities are advising international students to carry their passports at all times. Since Trump returned to power, the US' immigration policies have become draconian. On 27 May, the administration ordered US embassies around the world to stop scheduling appointments for student visas. It even halted Harvard University's ability to enroll foreign students. Amid all this, several international students have faced deportation for minor infractions. While much of the attention around US visa restrictions has focused on students, the Big Brother approach in the US has made another group, India's study-abroad startups, anxious. Companies such as Leap Scholar, Leverage Edu, AdmitKard and upGrad, which promise smooth overseas admissions and counselling services, are now facing business uncertainty. Because it is not just the US, but key markets such as Canada, the UK, and Australia as well that have tightened rules for international student admissions, according to industry insiders. After the crash of mainstream edtech in India, the study-abroad industry had emerged as a bright spot. But populist politics across the globe threaten to shake the foundations of the business model. Can these startups weather the storm? The business Before 2016, most Indian students seeking to study abroad relied on a highly unorganized network of small, local consultants operating out of single-office setups in Tier I and Tier II cities. About 10 years ago, edtech platforms focused on helping students get admissions abroad started emerging. They include AdmitKard (2016), Leverage Edu (2017), Leap Scholar (2019). Upskilling platform and edtech unicorn upGrad also launched study-abroad services in 2021. These startups offered a range of services, helping students with university applications and counselling to scholarships, visa applications, accommodation and even loans to finance their education. Each operates with a slightly different proposition—while Leap Finance and Leverage Edu are full-service platforms offering end-to-end guidance and admission support to students, AdmitKard is mostly about counselling. upGrad's study-abroad programme focuses on hybrid or online-to-offline programmes in which students study online the first year and travel to the university campus the second year. Over the last few years, India's study-abroad market has been taking big strides, fuelled by a growing appetite for global education and rising disposable incomes. While the market saw a slump during the covid-19 pandemic years, it has bounced back since. According to Bengaluru-based consulting firm Redseer, about 2 million Indian students are projected to opt for overseas education by 2027. This number, according to the firm, stood at 0.7 million in 2019 and 0.9 million in 2022. The sector has also seen significant venture capital infusion during and after the pandemic years, 2023 being the year it attracted the highest funding ever, at about $562 million, according to data sourced from Tracxn. A temporary dip? Even other top markets, such as the UK, Canada and Australia, have tightened their immigrant rules of late. In May, the UK government released a whitepaper that proposed reducing the standard length of the graduate visa for international students to stay on and work in the UK from two years to 18 months, among other changes. Last week, Australia-based IDP Education, one of the world's largest international student placement firms, warned that its full-year revenue and earnings would take a hit due to visa crackdowns in key markets such as Australia and Canada, estimating student placement volumes to drop 28-30% during this financial year. The announcement led to its stock plummeting 50%, it's worst single-day drop ever, Canadian study-abroad startup ApplyBoard laid off about 150 employees last week due to policy changes at major study destinations. Last November, Canada ended its Student Direct Stream (SDS) programme, which expedited the processing of study permit applications for international students. India's edtech exporters, most of whom rely heavily on the US and UK, are now bracing for the impact of ongoing uncertainty. Industry experts acknowledge that a dip is likely if the situation persists, though they are cautiously optimistic that the downturn will be temporary. 'In our study-abroad business, about 70% of visa appointments were already taken care of. So, those haven't been affected. But 30% is halted because the visa appointments are on hold," Praneet Singh, associate vice president of university partnerships at upGrad Abroad, told Mint. A million students enter the US to study every year, so it impacts the country's economy as well, Singh noted. 'That gives me conviction that it's not going to last. It's going to be a couple of weeks or maybe a month or two. But it will eventually get lifted." Piyush Bhartiya, co-founder of study-abroad counselling startup AdmitKard, said there is a lot of uncertainty among students planning to go to the US. If their September intake is blocked and interviews don't open, then US sentiment will go from unsure to negative, he said. With all the key markets correcting at the same time, there will be some downturn, Bhartiya noted. 'The US issued about 80,000 visas last year from India. Now, if that 80,000 falls to 40,000, we don't know how many markets or how many countries it will take to absorb that other 40,000," said Bhartiya. Leap Finance, one of the larger startups in India's study abroad ecosystem, has refrained from commenting on the subject altogether. With market conditions in flux, investors are closely watching the sector, particularly how these businesses respond and pivot to sustain growth. While recent policy uncertainties in traditional destinations such as the US and UK have sparked some investor caution, the demand for overseas education remains structurally strong, according to Surabhi Sanyukta, vice president–Investments, BlackSoil, an investor in study-abroad platform Leverage Edu. 'The sector has seen consistent double-digit year-on-year growth over the past few years, and this demand is not diminishing; it is simply becoming more geographically distributed," she said. 'One of the key challenges the sector faces is its historical reliance on a few dominant geographies. Policy shifts, changing visa regimes, and economic volatility in these markets can significantly impact student flows. Startups that scaled primarily on the back of US or UK-bound student demand are now having to recalibrate their strategies," Sanyukta added. Expanding horizons The uncertainty around immigrant laws in various geographies has had a clear impact. Enrolments have gone down by 27% in top destination markets such as the US, the UK and Canada. This decline has affected study-abroad platforms as well, but sparked interest in other destinations. 'If we were getting about 6,000 closed leads in February for Germany, we're now getting about 9,500 leads a month for that country, which makes for 35% of our business. France has gone from 3% of our business to 8% of our total business at the moment. Finland has also gone from 3% to 6% of our business," said upGrad's Singh. The two really big winners have been Germany and Ireland, which have traditionally seen a smaller intake from India, said AdmitKard's Bhartiya. 'On our platform, we have seen almost five times more inquiries for Germany in the last two years. France and some of the Nordic countries are also gaining interest very rapidly," he said. AdmitKard is now focusing on getting accreditations in other countries as the non-US market sees a spike in interest. 'We are a very strong recruiter for the US market so we had focused on US accreditation. Now, we are focusing on other countries as well, and onboarding partners in countries like Japan, Finland, and Sweden," Bhartiya said. Many prominent schools in the US and UK are setting up offshore campuses in locations such as Dubai and Singapore. Study abroad platforms are now turning to these newer markets, capturing already existing demand and creating new demand. In the last six months, upGrad has focused on finding partners in Dubai. 'We've got Middlesex University, University of Birmingham, among others. We've just signed up with four schools in the UAE. The company is also trying to double down on Finland and expand to Singapore," Singh said, noting that India will also see a lot of campuses being set up. New Delhi-based Leverage Edu has also seen a sea-change in its student composition over the past 12 months. The company, which relied on India for 100% of its customers, is now seeing 40-45% of students coming from non-India regions—of that, 25% is from Africa, 15% is the rest of South Asia (Nepal, Bangladesh), with the rest from the Middle East and Southeast Asia, Akshay Chaturvedi, founder and CEO of the edtech startup, told Mint. Chaturvedi added that the UK used to be a dominant study location for the company till about two years back. The country still accounts for 50-60% of the business today, but the remaining 40-50% is mostly from the rest of Europe, particularly Germany, he said. The way forward Aside from admissions, most study-abroad platforms make money from test-prep, counselling, documentation, and application fees. These services have stable demand despite the shifts in study markets. For instance, 25% of Leverage Edu's business comes from services such as forex and loans, among other ancillaries. Last quarter, the company also launched a job portal, Leverage which the CEO believes will push the income from these non-core services up further. Value-added services contribute about 10% to Leap's revenue, with the majority coming from counseling and financing. upGrad's study-abroad vertical also offers International English Language Testing System (IELTS) prep programmes aside from online-to-offline learning, its core business. Ashish Bhatia, founder & CEO at India Accelerator, which has invested in edtech companies such as Imarticus Learning, Ingenium and Dhurina, noted that offering various services gives these startups the flexibility to adapt to the changing circumstances. 'Startups that proactively expand their offerings and limit their reliance on the US markets are most likely to come out of this situation unaffected," Bhatia said. As things stand, however, nobody knows when the situation will improve. Startups that pivot to accommodate the changing reality will be better placed to weather the storm.
Mint
07-06-2025
- Business
- Mint
Edtechs Simplilearn, UpGrad and Emeritus bank on B2B revenue as AI and GCC demand rises
As the edtech sector grapples with waning interest in its core, consumer-focused online learning courses post-pandemic, major edtech and upskilling companies like Simplilearn, upGrad, and Emeritus are strategically shifting gears towards enabling enterprise learning. Even as companies say that the conventional consumer model is still very much in vogue, they are working towards building their B2B (business to business) businesses, backed by corporations racing to upskill employees for the artificial intelligence (AI) age, and by the expansion of global capacity centres (GCCs) in India. The goals are lofty. Mumbai-based upGrad, a traditionally consumer-facing business, expects 30-35% of its business coming from B2B in the next few years, from 20% currently. Simplilearn, which has offices in the US, Singapore and Bengaluru, and offers courses ranging from AI to digital marketing, gets 30% of its revenue from its enterprise segment, and expects a 50:50 split in two to three years. And Bengaluru-based Scaler, which focuses on software development and data science courses and introduced a B2B vertical this year, expects it to contribute 10-20% of revenues in the first fiscal year (FY26). The details Let's start with Scaler. The startup, traditionally a direct-to-consumer player, is focusing its B2B business towards companies with a headcount of 2,000-20,000 employees and those that have set up a GCC in India. 'Most large enterprises outsource their software needs, and it lands in an Indian GCC," said Abhimanyu Saxena, co-founder of Scaler, identifying the training of GCC staff as a key revenue stream. 'In the first year, revenue from enterprise will be sizeable," Saxena said, adding that the company has already signed deals with a few Fortune 500 companies, but declined to share the names. Scaler closed FY24 with ₹384.5 crore in operating revenue, up from ₹316.6 crore in FY23, according to documents sourced from business insights provider Tofler. Scaler also slashed its losses in FY24 to ₹138.8 crore, down from ₹330.2 crore in FY23. Also Read | Staffing firms find it more profitable putting employees in GCCs than IT firms 'If edtechs are able to win contracts from GCCs, which have the potential to give big-ticket deals, they can end up becoming really profitable for companies," said Amit Nawka, technology deals partner at PwC India. Meanwhile, upGrad has been slowly building its muscle for enterprise-facing solutions through mergers and acquisitions over the past three years. While the edtech acquired Work Better and Centum Learning in 2022 to build its B2B segment, it was only in April 2024 that the company brought its B2B offerings under one banner, upGrad Enterprise, the company said. Srikanth Iyengar, chief executive officer of upGrad Enterprise, said B2B will help the company accelerate its growth in international markets through partnerships with global organisations. 'While consumer programmes typically allow individuals to learn at their own pace, enterprise learning is built on speed and precision–where organizations need their talent to acquire and apply skills to drive performance." upGrad clocked ₹1,875 crore in non-Indian Accounting Standards gross revenue in FY24, up ₹1,530 crore in the previous financial year, according to data shared by the company with Mint. It trimmed Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) losses to ₹79 crore,down from ₹500 crore in the previous fiscal. Some of upGrad's B2B vertical clients are Reliance Retail, Hexaware Technologies, HCL Technologies and Walmart Global Tech India, according to the company. Pivotal role As for Simplilearn, company founder Krishna Kumar told Mint In an interview last year that the company would focus on reskilling for professionals and its B2B segment. 'We should reach a 50-50 split between our consumer and enterprise business in the next two to three years," Kumar said. According to data from the company's FY24 revenue announcement release, Simplilearn clocked ₹773 crore in revenue and trimmed Ebitda losses by 75% to ₹51 crore. Most of Simplilearn's enterprise business comes from four segments: IT and ITES, GCCs, public sector undertakings (PSUs) and government institutions, and manufacturing and BFSI (banking, financial services, insurance). The startup's B2B clients include Indian IT firm Mphasis and Swiss technology company Temenos. 'At IT and ITES companies, they hire fresh graduates who can't be put on projects from day one," Kumar said. 'They need extensive training that is part of their onboarding programme and we work with them to make sure they can be deployed on projects." On the other hand, at GCCs, the focus shifts to upskilling and reskilling the workforce, Kumar added. Post-pandemic shifts To be sure, edtech's troubles started to grow in 2022 as the pandemic waned and students began to return to their classrooms. Startups in the sector faced slower growth and looked to pivot to more viable options. Additionally, Byju's collapse hurt the ecosystem, in terms of both valuations and investor faith in the space. Also Read | Byju's startup lesson: Don't get carried away with winner-takes-all dreams While several edtech companies switched to an offline model, others have turned to B2B for consistent revenue. Yet, companies told Mint their D2C business is still alive and kicking. 'If you look at the higher education segment, I don't see any downturn. Even if you look at the players in the upskilling and reskilling segment, I don't see any of the players struggling," said Simplilearn's Kumar. In fact, PhysicsWallah is among the few profitable edtechs that has stuck by its D2C business. Increasing AI demand The change in the edtech revenue mix comes as AI increasingly takes centre stage and enterprises look to plug holes in this space, from both an adoption and staffing perspective. 'AI can be adopted well into GCCs because they're highly process-driven organisations with specific turnaround times as well as predictability of work. In that regard, GCCs will be the torchbearers of AI adoption," said Nawka of PwC. upGrad Enterprises' Iyengar said that the division has seen 100% jump in enterprise sign-ups for AI-focused training in the past six months, across India, North America, Europe and the Middle East. 'What's encouraging is that this isn't just a top-down push–we're seeing equal enthusiasm from employees," he added. Also Read | GenAI may pile pricing pressure on customer support and maintenance work of IT services companies Popular courses upGrad Enterprises' most popular courses include generative AI for quality assurance/quality engineering teams and coding agents, and advanced GenAI courses for professionals working with large language models. At Simplilearn, AI and GenAI have become big themes across the four verticals that use its services. It's the same at Emeritus. 'Additionally, topics such as executive presence, communication, and negotiation & influence are in high demand across leadership levels," said Morarji. The increased focus on AI comes as organisations look to automate tasks, putting entry-level jobs at risk. The Future of Jobs report 2025 by the World Economic Forum points out that 85% of the employers surveyed plan to upskill their workforce, while 70% expect to hire staff with new skills. At the same time, 40% of employers are reducing staff as their skills become less relevant and 50% are planning to transition staff to growing roles. 'I can't see a better time for edtechs to target B2B as a segment because AI is disrupting everything and everyone wants to be on top of their game," PwC India's Nawka said.
