upGrad, the Mumbai-based online skilling and higher-education company co-founded by Ronnie Screwvala, acquired Internshala, a Gurugram platform that connects college students and recent graduates with internships and entry-level jobs. The deal was announced on 26 February 2026.
The companies did not disclose financial terms. Reports described the structure in slightly different ways: MediaNama and Inc42 reported that upGrad acquired a 90% stake through a share swap, while Entrackr said 90% of the consideration was paid in upGrad stock. Entrackr and MediaNama, citing people familiar with the deal, said it valued Internshala at around Rs 100 crore (about $11 million).
Internshala will continue to operate as an independent brand under its founder and chief executive, Sarvesh Agrawal, and will draw on upGrad's technology and learning infrastructure.
What Internshala built
Internshala is an early-talent marketplace that helps college students and recent graduates find internships and entry-level jobs. Agrawal founded it in 2010, according to Entrepreneur India and MediaNama; Entrackr gave the founding year as 2011.
The platform says it has more than 34 million registered users and about 450,000 employers, with roughly 3 million active applicants a year, most of them arriving through organic traffic. More than 40% of its users come from tier II and tier III cities. Its revenue is about Rs 45 crore (about $5 million), according to Entrackr and MediaNama, and Screwvala said it had been growing at 30% to 40% a year, Inc42 reported.
None of the reports named outside investors in Internshala or gave its headcount.
“Education and employment in India have operated in silos for too long.”
Why upGrad is buying
upGrad presented the deal as a way to connect training with jobs. Its learners will get access to Internshala's listings, and upGrad plans to put money into product development, AI-based matching of candidates to roles and hiring products for companies, moving Internshala further towards enterprise customers. The stated goal is to take Internshala's revenue from about Rs 45 crore to Rs 100 crore or more within 18 to 24 months.
Chirag Samdaria, upGrad's head of corporate strategy and growth, said education and employment in India had been run separately for too long. Agrawal said that joining upGrad would let Internshala increase its reach by helping train millions of candidates.
upGrad's talks with Unacademy had broken down about a month before the Internshala deal was announced. Internshala sits closer to hiring than to teaching, giving upGrad a direct line to the roughly 450,000 employers on its platform who recruit interns and new graduates.
The buyer's recent deals
upGrad was founded in 2015 by Screwvala, Mayank Kumar, Phalgun Kompalli and Ravijot Chugh and has raised more than $320 million from investors including IFC, 360 ONE Asset and IIFL Finance, Inc42 reported. In the year to March 2025 its revenue from operations rose 5.5% to Rs 1,569.3 crore (about $175 million), and its net loss fell 51% to Rs 273.3 crore (about $30 million) from Rs 559.5 crore, according to MediaNama.
The company has a history of buying. It acquired five companies in 2022, including Work Better, Talentedge, Exampur, WOLVES India and INSOFE. In November 2025 it reportedly submitted an expression of interest to bid for assets of Think & Learn, the insolvent parent of BYJU'S. Talks to acquire Unacademy were called off in January 2026 over a disagreement on valuation.
A quiet market for edtech deals
The deal comes after a weak year for Indian edtech. Inc42 reported that funding for the sector fell 56% in 2025 to $249 million, from $572 million in 2024, and that only five acquisitions took place in the sector during the year.
Paying mainly in shares let upGrad add a large user base of students and new graduates without a large cash outlay, at a time when it has been cutting losses. For Internshala, which has mostly grown through organic traffic, the deal brings the backing of a larger company while it keeps its own brand and leadership.
