The e-higher education company, upGrad has announced that it has acquired The Gate Academy (TGA). With this acquisition, the company is preparing to disclose its presence in the Rs.40, 000 crore test preparation market in the country.

Commenting on the acquisition, Ronnie Screwvala & Mayank Kumar, Co-founders of upGrad says, “We’re thrilled to onboard Ritesh & the team. TGA provides upGrad a non-linear growth opportunity in new-segment entry and deeper penetration in the semi-urban & rural markets, which is in line with our core vision of making Bharat employable by adopting the mantra of Lifelong Learning. With every strategic move, we are ensuring that upGrad leads from the front as India emerges as the teaching capital of the world.”

Alongside, upGrad is also planning to invest more than Rs.100 crore into the preparation business and intending to develop over 20,000 hours of content in multiple languages to provide access to a minimum of one million test-takers annually.

Gaurav Kumar, President - Corporate Development, upgrades states, “This is another step by upGrad in successfully accelerating its strategy for exponential growth and enhancing its product portfolio through acquisition. The acquisition also sets in upGrad’s plans for building a comprehensive post-K-12 ecosystem in motion. Bringing in TGA opens up a much larger addressable market that acutely needs quality online training and counseling. We are excited at the prospect of assisting youth from ‘Bharat’ achieve their job aspirations.”

The Bengaluru-based TGA operates at 57 coaching centers all over the country and has about 76 million video hours consumed by its learners who have enrolled for Gate and other entrance tests held for the various government as well as public sector jobs.

Arjun Mohan, CEO - India, upGrad comments, “With the rapidly increasing interest in online education and commitment to LifeLong Learning, upGrad has strengthened its position in the higher education sector by entering the test prep market with TGA. The coming months will be very exciting as we have a robust plan of over 100 new program launches with top national & international universities, coupled with other acquisitions in the higher education space.”

upGrad offers online programs in the fields namely technology, data science, management, and law. These programs are devised and delivered in collaboration with various universities like MICA, IIT Madras, BIMTECH, IIIT Bangalore, NMIMS Global Access, Jindal Global Law School, Liverpool John Moores University, Duke CE, Deakin University, amongst others.