With Temasek's $120 mn, Ronnie Screwvala's UpGrad set for $1 bn valuation

Entrepreneur says his upskilling startup is targeting $2 billion in revenue by 2026.

Ronnie Screwvala pioneered cable television in India in the 1980s and then built a unicorn that was acquired by Walt Disney Co. At 64, the entrepreneur’s latest venture UpGrad is speeding toward a landmark $1 billion valuation.

The higher education and upskilling startup raised $120 million from Singapore-based investor Temasek Holdings Pte, according to its co-founder. That’s the first time UpGrad—which had been funded entirely by Screwvala and its founding team since it was established in 2015—is getting an external investor.

“We are not quite a unicorn but we’ll get there soon,” the entrepreneur said in an interview via Zoom