Edtech platform Coursera is responding to rising demand for generative AI courses as learners grow, with India leading enrollments in this fast-evolving field of genAI, a senior supervisor told a news outlet. With top trending courses in India increasingly focusing on artificial intelligence and other future-forward skills, Coursera’s free online courses and top professional courses are capturing wide interest among Indian learners.

The growth in online learning platforms has slowed compared to the pandemic period. However, Coursera has seen over 950,000 enrollments in genAI courses, with a 1600% year-on-year growth in genAI content, according to Raghav Gupta, Managing Director, India and Asia Pacific at Coursera, in an interview. 

He added that some of the growth is “because it’s such hot content that people want to learn, and there’s perhaps a bit of FOMO as well.” Coursera has 26 million registered learners in India—surpassed only by the U.S. with 29 million—and Indians lead the enrollments for genAI courses over the U.S.

In 2023, a learner in India enrolled in a genAI course on Coursera every three seconds. That quadrupled to one enrollment every minute in 2024. Last week, the U.S.-based edtech platform launched a new suite of genAI courses for software, product, data, and marketing teams, which it has branded as “genAI for teams.” This latest update bolsters the genAI Academy, which includes modules like “genAI for Everyone” and “genAI for Directors” designed especially for senior staff.

Until now, Coursera has hosted over 500 genAI courses and aims to onboard 28-29 million Indian learners by the end of the year. Gupta said, “We started creating genAI content very early, so our 500 courses on genAI are meeting learner demand.” Coursera closed the second quarter on June 30 with revenue of $170.3 million, an 11% increase from last year. Gross profit rose to $90.2 million from $79.7 million recorded the previous year. The edtech industry is closely watching how generative AI affects the business landscape.

In July, it was reported that the edtech platform Upgrad saw over 340,000 individuals enroll in free online courses during the last fiscal year ending in March. Of these, 40% sought top trending courses in genAI, technology, machine learning, software, and data.

Mergers & Acquisitions

On Coursera’s acquisition strategy, Gupta shared that the company is pursuing acquisitions to further strengthen its content offerings. Coursera has recently acquired Rhyme Softworks—a hands-on learning platform for programming and other tech skills—and invested in Delhi-based Unstop, which connects students with job opportunities. In India, Coursera has partnered with top universities and companies to offer top professional courses, including BITS Pilani, IIM Ahmedabad, IIT Bombay, IIT Roorkee, IIT Guwahati, IIM Calcutta, and IIM Kozhikode, and with industry partners like PwC India, Philips, and L&T EduTech.

Connection in India’s Edtech Sector

India’s edtech sector has seen significant deceleration due to a return to in-person education, economic pressures, and funding constraints. Once India’s most prized edtech company, Byju’s, has faced setbacks, including delayed payments to lenders, resulting in legal battles and restructuring efforts. Other platforms like Unacademy and Vedantu are also experiencing significant challenges due to the market downturn, leading to large-scale layoffs.

Last month, the Supreme Court overturned an order of the National Company Law Tribunal that had permitted an agreement of Rs. 158 crores between the parent company of Byju’s, suppose & Learn Pvt. Ltd. and the Board of Control for Cricket in India. This restored the ruin proceedings and further complicated the challenges of the edtech platform. Other big platforms like Unacademy and Vedantu are also facing critical challenges, which have come about because the sector has witnessed a downfall, resulting in the layoff of huge numbers.

According to Gupta, after the smash as seen during the epidemic in the flux of several companies and investors, the strong players alone are witnessing fundraising and accessions for connection. “We have seen this in lift-sharing, food delivery, and e-commerce. There were so many companies in e-commerce, and now there are only a handful of players. To an extent, that is what we are seeing in edtech as well,” he said. Gupta also explained that post-pandemic, only strong players are raising funds and making acquisitions, similar to trends seen in ride-sharing, food delivery, and e-commerce. He further noted that Coursera has no plans to enter the offline space but will continue partnering with universities to expand online top-trending courses in India.

PhysicsWallah, which is an edtech platform for online education, raised $210 million in backing, led by Asian hedge fund Hornbill Capital. Lightspeed India mates made a further investment. Along similar lines, the news outlet reported that Singaporean independent wealth fund Temasek has invested a further $60 million in the edtech company Upgrad. It concluded the acquisition of Udacity, an edtech platform, in May and rolled out LearnVantage, the upskilling program by Accenture for their guests who bear training on slice-edge technologies like AI.