upGrad, Asia's leading integrated skilling and workforce development company, today announced the acquisition of Internshala, the world’s largest early-talent marketplace, for an undisclosed amount — in a 90% stock-swap transaction.
The acquisition strengthens upGrad’s position across the full career lifecycle — connecting education, skilling, and employment on a single platform. 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 sees most of its traffic organically and serves students across India, including more than 40% from Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets.
With the integration, upGrad reinforces its commitment to building structured ecosystems for learners and employers, enabling students to discover internships, build job-ready skills, and transition into full- time roles more efficiently. To fuel this growth, upGrad will invest additional resources to accelerate product innovation, AI-led talent matching, and enterprise hiring models, with a target to scale Internshala’s ₹45 crore revenue base to ₹100 crore and beyond.
Commenting on this acquisition, Chirag Samdaria, head of corporate strategy and growth at upGrad, said, “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. By bridging work opportunities with structured skilling, we are building a more aligned talent ecosystem for both learners and employers.”
Internshala will continue to operate as an independent brand, led by its founder and CEO, Sarvesh Agrawal, leveraging upGrad’s scale, technology, and learning ecosystem to expand its offerings and reach.
“This is a very natural partnership where learning meets opportunity. In the last 15 years, Internshala has democratized career start for students. Joining hands with upGrad will allow us 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,” added Agrawal. Investec acted as exclusive financial advisor to Internshala.
This acquisition marks a key milestone in upGrad’s mission to power India’s skilling economy — supporting millions of learners and organisations through career-aligned education and employment pathways.
About upGrad
Founded in 2015, upGrad is Asia’s leading integrated skilling and workforce development company, powering the complete learning cycle for individuals. It offers a range of online and hybrid skilling programs and certifications through its B2C portfolio and partners with top Indian and global universities to offer diploma, master’s, and executive doctorate programs, with all degrees awarded solely by the respective universities. The company supports learners at every career stage — from first job to boardroom. Additionally, select programs are tailored for enterprise clients through its corporate skilling division, along with recruitment and staffing services. For more details, visit www.upgrad.com.
About Internshala
Internshala is the world’s largest early-career marketplace, with 35 million registered users and 70,000 companies. Founded by two IIT Madras alumni, Internshala is democratizing career starts for students in India without requiring prior experience or access. Learn more at internshala.com.
Media Contact
Shirin Gupta
upGrad
shirin.rai@upgrad.com
