Hardeep Singh
Great Learning is founded by an ex-Tiger Global India MD
Mohan Lakhamraju, the former India MD of Tiger Global, established Great Learning in 2013 to create a platform for accessible higher education and skill development. It has already provided 60 million hours of learning to 1.5 million students and reached the $100 million ARR mark after seven years.
Mohan Lakhamraju’s career in education began in 2006, while he was functioning as Tiger Global’s India MD. During his time, he not only established the New York-based VC’s Mumbai office but also managed its investments in Indian and South Asian education companies.
He thought this industry was in poor shape at the time. Learning outcomes were not being achieved. People were unable to use what they had learned in order to advance their careers. Mohan sought to address the issue of learning outcomes both offline and online.
He founded the Great Lakes Institute of Management in Chennai, one of India’s top business schools, in 2011 and continues to serve as its Vice-Chairman. As Coursera continue to develop pace in the United States in 2012, Mohan shifted his focus to online learning. He realized quickly that India was indeed a market unlike any other in the West.
“In the United States, it’s all about the product; there’s no mentorship. However, just distributing information through MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) was not going to cut it in India. “It was a need to concentrate on software learning”, he said
Great Learning’s Journey
Great Learning was founded by Mohan in 2013 as higher education and upskilling platform dedicated to providing high-quality, outcome-driven, and mentor-based learning. The Gurugram-based firm launched its first business intelligence curriculum, which was in high demand at the time.
The platform has now expanded to include online training for new graduates as well as job search tools. “Our objective was to create a platform that was welcoming to all types of learners. Because the best offline institutions have always been exclusive,” the founder says.
Great Learning is one of India’s top three higher-education businesses today, with 60 million hours of learning, 1.5 million learners, and a $100 million ARR.
Mentor-assisted learning for career advancement
Stanford, MIT, UT Austin, NUS, IIT Madras, IIT Bombay, IIT Roorkee, and other renowned worldwide and Indian universities have collaborated with Great Learning. “We collaborated with these universities because they have the greatest teaching staff,” Mohan explains.
Learning is not a procedural activity; it is an elevated activity. Teachers are essential for truly strong teaching to take place. People love being held in their arms and being supported, and this is now being verified across geographies.”
Data science, business analytics, AI, machine learning, cloud computing, software development, cybersecurity, design thinking, and digital marketing are among the topics covered by the project’s degree, diploma, and certificate programmes.
There are over 330 free courses to select from, as well as 45 premium mentoring programmes. Today, foreign learners from 85 countries account for over 40% of Great Learning’s revenue. Before the pandemic, this figure was over 20%.
In addition, foreign students on the platform have a 96 per cent course completion rate, which is better than the platform’s average of 91 per cent. Great Learning tracks and assesses placements because it solves for result learning and helps students acquire capabilities for career advancement.
Within a year of finishing their course, 66 per cent of the startup’s students claim to have had a “career change.” “We have over 500 hiring associates that help us find people. Throughout the pandemic, we’ve seen over 100 placements each month. Digitalization is driving the majority of demand, according to Mohan.
10X user increase and $100 million ARR of Great Learning
Great Learning only offered paid courses till April 2020. However, in response to the pandemic lockdowns, which resulted in an increase in online education and a need for upskilling courses, it launched a free training library (Great Learning Academy).
“Before the pandemic, we had around 100,000 users. In the previous 15 months, there has been a tenfold increase. The epidemic compelled regulators to take action. We anticipate a lot of development now that the government has justified online degree programmes [as part of NEP 2020]. We will have two million students by September.”
By 2025, Great Learning anticipates its overall user base to reach 15 million, including half a million paid learners. “The trend of online learning will continue. Several universities have agreed that up to 40% of on-campus instruction can be supplemented by online learning.
However, how many institutions are in a position to do so? Several of them will need to come to us for assistance,” the founder explains. Great Learning made Rs 325 crore in sales in 2020, up 150 per cent from the previous year. International markets have driven the majority of it.
In FY21, the startup claims to have achieved an ARR of $100 million. The company’s employment has grown from 500 in March 2020 to 1,400 in June 2021. In response to consumer demand sparked by the pandemic, the firm created Olympus, a B2B digital campus platform.
Universities can use the full-stack platform that enables content production, programme design, student recruitment, broader framework, hackathons, cohorts, guest encounters, career services, and interviews, among other things.
“Olympus is an online university. It is the engine that drives our global operations. After receiving several requests from professors, we introduced it in July of last year. Over 250 institutions are now utilizing it, but we have yet to monetize it,” says the founder.
Future plans and market overview
Despite the fact that the EdTech sector is flooded with venture cash, Great Learning remains underfunded. Surprisingly, the startup is believed to have had merger negotiations with BYJU’S, India’s most valued startup, which has been on an acquisition binge in the previous 12-15 months. Great Learning has allegedly received a $350 million takeover offer from the latter.
“We have had many talks both as an acquirer and acquiree,” adds Mohan, who does neither confirm or deny the development. The market will reach an efficient condition. This insane level of competitiveness can’t go on for much longer. Online education duplicates a lot of expenditures and functions. These duplications will be eliminated as a result of consolidation.”
Despite the fact that Great Learning has a modest financing profile, it created a splash last September when it announced India’s cricket captain Virat Kohli as its brand ambassador. It was reported earlier this year that it was aiming to raise $60 million to expand its worldwide talent acquisition, content creation, and growth initiatives.
According to a RedSeer study, India’s online higher education market would expand 10 times to $5 billion by 2025. The market is already controlled by two or three companies that are considerably larger than the rest combined. “There used to be around 40 firms, but they haven’t expanded. The market is already quite crowded. “And there will be further consolidation,” says Mohan.
There’s no denying that Edtech is undergoing a change, unlike any other industry. According to Great Learning, education is the last remaining industry to be revolutionized by technology. “That is why it is so appealing right now,” Mohan adds. “Because of the Black Swan occurrence, what would have taken 5-10 years of free markets suddenly happened.”
There’s no turning back now. Neither for Great Learning nor for education is this really the case? For more content stay tuned to StartupTrak.
