UNext Learning, the edtech arm of Manipal Education and Medical Group, is expanding its enterprise training operations into manufacturing and retail sectors in the current quarter. The firm is also investing in large offline training centres with over 1,250 combined capacity across Mumbai, Delhi-NCR and Jaipur, CEO Ambrish Sinha said in an interaction with FE.
“We are quite strong in banking and IT services space. We are launching new training programs and products for manufacturing and retail through partnerships with large companies, starting this quarter itself,” Sinha said, adding that the programmes will look to address specific skill gaps in areas including sales, business development, AI, business analytics, data science, soft skills, digital marketing, and product management.
To support this, the company is investing in “a 250+ capacity center in Mumbai by June, with plans for over 1,000 capacity across Delhi-NCR and Jaipur,” Sinha added. These centers will operate on a hybrid model combining campus and online learning, supplementing their existing Bengaluru facility.
The company currently operates its enterprise training through Manipal Academy of BFSI, which works directly with banks, including HDFC and ICICI, to train candidates for pre-committed positions. This enterprise partnership model will now be replicated in manufacturing and retail sectors.
UNext, backed by internal funding of Rs 700-800 crore from the Manipal Group, posted a revenue of Rs 446 crore for FY24 and Rs 460 crore for FY25, with projections of Rs 600 crore for FY26. The enterprise business is already Ebitda positive, while the online segment is expected to achieve profitability within 12-18 months, with overall business profitability targeted for FY27, Sinha added.
UNext’s revenue mix is expected to shift from the current 60:40 (online B2C:enterprise) to an even 50:50 split with these new initiatives. The company serves approximately 125,000 learners on its online platform through university partnerships and trains 50,000 professionals annually through enterprise programs, currently split equally between BFSI and IT sectors. Overall learner numbers are growing at 30% year-on-year, Sinha said.
The company has implemented AI across operations through tools like AI Prof for doubt clearing, QuizMe for automated assessments, and AI Learning Paths for personalisation, reducing content development costs and cutting customer acquisition costs by around 30%, he said. “The time to create content has also reduced substantially for us in the last one year,” Sinha added.
UNext is also evaluating potential entry into the study abroad segment. “Study abroad looks promising. There are white-spaces in higher-education despite strong competition,” Sinha said, though the company declined to provide specific details on timeline or target markets.