Eruditus

Founded in 2011 by Ashwin Damera and Chaitanya Kalipatnapu, the Eruditus Group consists of Eruditus Executive Education and Emeritus. Eruditus Executive Education, its online division, is an executive education platform that aims to provide professional learning opportunities to a global market, and Emeritus, its corporate learning platform, aims at upskilling and reskilling corporate workforces. With more than 50 university partners including Harvard, MIT, Berkeley, and Wharton, Eruditus has launched over 100 courses in multiple languages, including Spanish and Mandarin, and serves over 250,000 individuals across 80 countries as of August 2021. 

Funding and financials

In March 2022, Eruditus subsidiary Emeritus raised USD 350 million in debt financing from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB). The round follows its USD 650 million Series E raised in August 2021. The company intends to use the most recent funds to expand its global presence via M&A. Earlier, in January 2022, the company announced plans to invest up to USD 1 billion for expansion through M&A in 2022. Alongside its growth strategy, the company expects to become profitable by FY2023. Eruditus also reported growth of 120% YoY in FY2022, with organic growth of 2.5x. The company estimates gross bookings of USD 500 million in FY2023 and expects its list of potential acquisitions to contribute up to 30% of Eruditus’ revenue and EBITDA in the next five years. In line with the company’s focus on achieving profitability, Eruditus announced in June 2022 that it will lay off staff in India and globally in an attempt to restructure and reduce expenditure. 

For FY2023, the company reported a revenue growth of 63% YoY, reaching USD 400 million in FY2023. The firm implemented effective cost-cutting measures, including maintaining a consistent headcount and relocating certain roles from the US or Europe to India. These initiatives resulted in Eruditus reducing its loss to ~USD 40 million in FY2023, a notable improvement from the USD 66 million loss in FY2022, excluding stock compensation and depreciation. For FY2024, the company expected a 40% YoY revenue growth to record USD 560 million and targeted a 7% EBITDA margin, equivalent to USD 40 million.