Even as companies say that the conventional consumer model is still very much in vogue, they are working towards building For the Artificial Intelligence (AI) age, and by the expansion of global capacity centers (GCCs) in India.
The goals are lofty. Mumbai-Based Upgrad, A Traditionally Consumer-Facing Business, Expects 30-35% of its business coming from b2b in the next few years, from 20% currently. Simplilearn, which has office office in the US, Singapore and Bengaluru, and Offers Courses Ranging from Ai To digital marketing, gets 30% of its revenue from its enterprise segment, and expects a 50:5 to three years.
And Bengaluru-Based Scaler, which focuses on software development and data science courses and introduced a b2b vertical this year, expects it to contribute 10-20% of reviews in the first face in the fir (FY26).
The details
Let’s start with scaler. The Startup, Traditionally a Direct-to-Consumer Player, is focusing its B2B Business Towards Companies with a Headcount of 2,000-20,000 Employees and that that that has been set up a GCC in India.
“Most Large Enterprises Outsource his software needs, and it lands in an Indian gcc,” said abhimanyu saxena, co-for scaler, identifying the training of gcc staff as a ke stafe as a kee staff as a kee staff as.
“In the first year, revenue from enterprise will be sizeable,” Saxena said, adding that the company has alredy signed deals with a less fortune 500 companies, but share the names.
Scaler closed fy24 with 384.5 Crore in Operating Revenue, up from 316.6 Crore in FY23, according to documents sourced from business insurance provider tofler. Scaler also slashed its losses in fy24 to 138.8 Crore, down from 330.2 Crore in FY23.
“If Edtechs are able to win contracts from gCCs, which have the potential to give big-ticket deals, they can end up become really profitable for companies,” Said amit nawaka, Technology AMIT NAWKA Partner at PWC India.
Meanwhile, upgrad has ben slowly building its muscle for enterprise-facing solutions through merges and accquisition over the past three years. While The Edtech Acquired Work Better and Centum Learning in 2022 to Build Its B2B Segment, It was only in April 2024 that the Company BROUB OFERANSS UNDER ENDER ENDER ENDER ENDER ENDER ENDER NEDT Enterprise, the company said.
Srikanth Iyengar, Chief Executive Officer of Upgrad Enterprise, Said B2B will help the company accelerate its growth in international markets through partnerships with global organisations. “While Consumer Programmes Typical Individuals to Learn at their own pace, Enterprise Learning is Built on Speed and Precision – WHERE Organizations Beed and Apply Skills to Apply Skil Drive performance. ”
Upgrad Clocked 1,875 Crore in Non-India Accounting Standards Gross Revenue in FY24, up 1,530 Crore in the Previous Financial Year, According to data shared by the company with MintIT Trimmed Ebitda (Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization) Losses to 79 Crore, Down From 500 Crore in the Previous Fiscal.
Some of Upgrad’s B2B Vertical Clients are Reliance Retail, Hexaware Technologies, HCL Technologies and Walmart Global Tech India, According to the Company.
Pivotal Role
As for simpliearn, company founder Krishna Kumar Told Mint in an interview last year that the company would focus on reskiling for profit and its B2B Segment. “We should bring a 50-50 split between our consumer and enterprise business in the next two to three years,” Kumar said.
According to data from the company’s fy24 revenue announs 773 Crore in Revenue and Trimmed Ebitda Losses by 75% to 51 Crore.
Most of Simplilearn’s Enterprise Business Comes from Four segments: it and ites, GCCS, Public Sector undertakings (PSUS) and Government Institutes, and Manufacturing and BFSI (Banking, BFSI Services, Insurance). The Startup’s B2B Clients Include Indian It Firm Mphasis and Swiss Technology Company Tmenos.
“At It and Its Companies, they hire fresh graduates who can’t be put on projects from day one,” Kumar said. “They needed extensive training that is part of their onboarding program and we work with them to make sure they can be deployed on projects.”
On the other hand, at gccs, the focus shifts to upskilling and reskilling the workforce, kumar added.
Post-pandemic shifts
To be sure, Edtech’s Troubles Started to Grow in 2022 as the Pandemic Waned and Students Began to return to their classrooms. Startups in the sector faceed slower growth and looked to more viable options. Additional, byju’s collapse hurt the ecosystem, in terms of both valuations and investor fath in the space.
While Several Edtech Companies Switched to an offline model, others have turned to b2b for consistent revenue. YET, Companies Told Mint Their D2C business is still alive and kicking.
“If you look at the higher education segment, I don’t see any pointurn. Even if you look at the players in the UPSKILLING AND RESKILLING AND RESKILLING AND Players in the Players, I don’t see any of the players strug Kumar.
In Fact, PhysicsWallah is amon the few profitable edtechs that has stuck by its d2c business.
Increasing Ai Demand
The change in the Edtech Revenue Mix Comes as AI Increasing Center Stage and Enterprises look to plug holes in this space in this space, from both an adoption and staffing personal.
“AI can be adopted well into gccs if they’re highly process-Dr. Driven Organizations with Specific Turnard Turnard Times as well as well as work. Torchbearers of AI Adoption, “said nawka of pwc.
UPGRAD ENTERPRIESES ‘Iyengar said that the division has Seen 100% Jump in Enterprise Sign-ups for AI-Focused Training in the Past Six Months, Across India, North America, Europe and the Middle East. “What’s encouraging is that that isn’t just a top-down push-we’re seeing equal enthusiasm from from Employees,” He Added.
Popular courses
Upgrad Enterprises’ Most Popular Courses Include Generative Ai For Quality Assurance/Quality Engineering Teams and Coding AGENTS and CODING AGENTS, And Advanced Genai Courses For Professionals Working Worsionals Writing Large Language models. At simplilearn, AI and Genai Have BEG Across Across the Four Verticals that Use Its Services.
It’s the same at emeritus. “Additional, Topics Such as Executive Presence, Communication, and Negotiation & Influence are in High Demand Across Accounts Leadership Levels,” Said morrji.
The Increased Focus on Ai Comes as Organizations Look To Automate Tasks, Putting Entry-Level Jobs at Risk. The Future of Jobs Report 2025 By the World Economic Forum Points Out that 85% of the Employers Surveyed Plan to UPskill their workforce, while 70% Expect to hire staff with new skills. At the same time, 40% of employers are reduced staff as their skills become relevant and 50% are planning to transition staff to growing roles.
“I can’t see a better time for edtechs to target b2b as a segment before ai is disrupting everything and everyone wants to be on top of their game,” PWC India’s love.