Top 5 Upskilling EdTech Brands in India (2025)

Introduction

The EdTech industry in India has seen an unprecedented boom in recent years. In today’s fast-paced digital world, upskilling and higher education have become more crucial than ever. Whether you’re a working professional aiming for career growth or a student trying to stay ahead in a competitive job market, online learning platforms have revolutionized the way we gain knowledge. With millions of students, professionals, and enterprises shifting towards online learning. With the growing demand for online learning, professional certifications, and higher education degrees, platforms like upGrad, Udemy, Coursera, Simplilearn, and Great Learning have captured a massive share of the market.

Top 5 EdTech Platforms in India (2025)

1. Upgrad

Target Audience – working professionals, recent graduates, and people who want to upskill or reskill.

Positioning – An online higher education and professional certification platform that helps learners improve their careers. Powering career success for every member of the global workforce as their trusted lifelong learning partner.

Tagline – “Building Careers of Tomorrow”

Most successful marketing campaign – upGrad’s “Sirf Naam Ki Nahin, Kaam Ki Degree” campaign features a notable advertisement that addresses corporate sycophancy and emphasizes the value of specialized education for genuine career advancement. The ad humorously showed employees licking a donkey (symbolizing sycophancy) to get promotions, emphasizing that real career growth comes from gaining relevant skills through upGrad’s professional courses.

2. Udemy

Target Audience – Students, Working professionals, Entrepreneurs, side-hustlers, and Corporate Clients wanted to train their employees.

Positioning – Udemy is a leading online learning platform that positions itself as a go-to destination for people who want to learn new skills or improve existing ones affordably and hub of short and small courses. Udemy’s positioning strategy is based on it ability to adapt to changing educational trends. 

Tagline – “The power of possibilities”

Most successful marketing campaign – 

Udemy’s most effective marketing approach involves implementing targeted, seasonal campaigns across platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, and Google. By deeply understanding learner interests, Udemy delivers highly relevant course recommendations at pivotal moments in a learner’s journey. This strategy includes capitalizing on major global holidays and events to offer timely, localized promotions and course suggestions, thereby engaging users worldwide.

3. Coursera

Target Audience – College Students, Working professional, and businesses looking to train their workforce.

Positioning – Coursera positions itself as a leading online learning platform that partners with top universities and organizations worldwide to offer a wide array of courses, specializations, and degrees.

Tagline – “Better lives through learning.”

Most successful marketing campaign – In 2023, Coursera organized a major event called Coursera Day, which turned out to be a highly successful conference. The event brought together prominent figures from the education and corporate sectors, including the AICTE Chairman, top professors from IITs, and leaders from the corporate world. The central theme of the conference was to connect with top academic, business, and government thought leaders to address some of the most pressing challenges in education and skill development. This initiative significantly boosted Coursera’s visibility, attracting a large audience of students and working professionals who were keen to explore opportunities for learning and career growth.

4. Simplilearn

Target Audience – working professionals in the 25 to 45 year age group and corporate clients.

Positioning – Simplilearn positions itself as a global leader in digital skills training, online courses and certification programs, enabling learners across the globe.

Tagline – “Get certified, Get Ahead”

Most successful marketing campaign – In January 2015, Simplilearn ran a 12-week marketing campaign in collaboration with LinkedIn, which turned out to be a massive success. The campaign achieved a Click-Through Rate (CTR)twice the industry standard for Learning Management Systems (LMS). It helped Simplilearn identify the best marketing channels and effectively reach a global audience, significantly boosting its brand visibility and lead generation for their domain.

5. Great Learning

Target Audience – Students, freshers, and mid level managers.

Positioning – Great Learning positions itself as impactful learning platform for everyone and enabling career success through high-quality transformative learning.

Tagline – “Learning for life.”

Most successful marketing campaign – In 2021, Great Learning launched its “Great Learning for Great Careers” campaign featuring Virat Kohli as the brand ambassador. The campaign used a cricket analogy, where Kohli, in a Great Learning jersey, guided individuals to upskill and avoid career pitfalls, similar to avoiding getting out in cricket. This relatable concept resonated strongly with freshers and young professionals, boosting Great Learning’s visibility and reinforcing its position as a platform that empowers learners to advance their careers through professional courses and certifications.