‘India is a very strategic geography. The business is growing over 37-38 per cent year-on-year.’
Kindly note the image has been published only for representational purposes. Photograph: Kind courtesy Pixabay
Chaitanya Kalipatnapu, co-founder and executive director of edtech unicorn Eruditus, aims to increase revenue from the Indian market to 50 per cent.
The higher education and upskilling platform also plans to boost its overall enterprise business revenue from the current 15-20 per cent to 50 per cent.
In an interview with Udisha Srivastav/Business Standard on the sidelines of the ASU + GSV & Emeritus Summit, he discusses reverse flipping to India, IPO plans, target markets for expansion, artificial intelligence (AI) in education, and more.
Eruditus raised $150 million last year. How is this funding being utilised?
Our focus is on three areas. First, we are doubling down on AI by working with university partners to expand our portfolio of AI programs and integrate AI into our learning experience platform.
This has significantly enhanced learner experience, improved completion rates, and reduced dropouts.
Second, currently, enterprise business contributes 15-20 per cent of our revenue, but we aim to increase this to 50 per cent.
This investment will help drive that expansion.
Finally, India is a very strategic geography. The business is growing over 37-38 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y).
Our goal is to make India 50 per cent of our overall business. That is why we are investing in terms of more courses and partnerships.
Eruditus is also reverse flipping. What stage are you at right now?
We have already announced our intention to reverse flip and the process has started.
At present, we are headquartered in Singapore, we are working with advisors on the transition.
This process has multiple steps, and we do have subsidiaries across the world. We don’t have a definitive timeline for completion.
Any estimated timeline for an IPO post-reverse flipping?
There’s no specific timeline because it involves the tax authorities, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), etc.
We have started the process and will follow the letter of the law in terms of the time that it would take. But we are not in a tearing hurry to do the IPO.
We became profitable in the last financial year (FY24), and our profits have grown three-times in FY25.
With financial sustainability and recent funding, our immediate focus is completing the flip to India.
Only after that will we consider an IPO, which would likely happen in the medium term rather than the short term.
Are you on track to clock over Rs 5,000 crore in revenue in FY25?
For financial year 2024 to this June (company follows July-June financial year), we are growing at 20 per cent, which means we will hit Rs 4,000 crore.
For next year, we would be growing closer to Rs 5,000 crore.
Last year, we had a profit of around Rs 26-27 crore and that is growing over three-times in this financial year.
How do you see the future of online education in the next five years?
In India, the gross enrolment ratio for students transitioning from 12th standard to undergraduate is around 27-28 per cent, compared to 60 per cent in the US or China.
The government wants to take this to 50 per cent in the next 5-10 years.
For that to happen, we need 27 million additional seats in universities, which cannot be accommodated solely through brick-and-mortar setups.
Online will be the mainstay, but it has to be driven by high-quality education and good career outcomes.
How have post-pandemic learning behaviours evolved? What changes do you see in how learners interact with edtech platforms?
The pandemic provided strong tailwinds for online learning and delivery, making it a mainstream mode of education.
This shift has been a global, secular trend. While individuals rapidly embraced online learning, corporate adoption was slightly slower.
The adoption of non-degree programs has been notably faster, particularly in upskilling and reskilling courses due to their shorter duration.
Topics such as hybrid work and leadership gained more relevance compared to other courses. As a result, we expanded our portfolio to meet these evolving demands.
Which segment is most inclined towards AI courses and adoption?
Based on our 2025 Global Workplace Skills Study, India is leading the way in AI adoption as 96 per cent of Indian professionals said they want to be AI-ready and upskill themselves.
Other geographies are slightly behind. In that aspect, we are working with Indian university partners as well as MIT, Kellogg, and Berkeley, where we are offering these AI programs.
AI is becoming the mainstay. AI is improving productivity and is pushing people to do higher-order skills rather than getting into the routine tasks.
Are you looking at acquisitions to expand your product offerings or geographic reach?
At least in the short to medium term, we are looking at growing organically and profitably.
The kind of capabilities that we have, we are covered in terms of what we want to do.
For example, with respect to India and enterprise, we have the internal capability as well as the resources, the idea is just to scale.
Although we are evaluating opportunities, there is no immediate plan to acquire.
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
