SUMMARY
The startup’s bottom line took a hit despite its operating revenue quadrupling to INR 316.7 Cr during the year under review
Scaler said that it primarily incurred the loss due to its increased focus in launching new courses, which resulted in higher expenditure in marketing and sales promotion activities.
Scaler’s total expenses shot up 173% YoY to INR 654.6 Cr in FY23 from INR 240 Cr in the year before
Edtech platform Scaler’s consolidated net loss widened 90% to INR 330.3 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) from INR 174 Cr in the previous fiscal year, primarily hurt by high advertising and marketing expenses due to the launch of new courses.
The startup’s bottom line took a hit despite its operating revenue quadrupling to INR 316.7 Cr during the year under review.
Scaler, which earns a majority of its revenue from sale of services, had posted an operating revenue of INR 65.6 Cr in FY22.
Founded in 2014 by Anshuman Singh and Abhimanyu Saxena, Scaler is an upskilling platform for working tech professionals. It offers upskilling programmes in two sectors – software engineering and data science, where learners are taught and mentored by industry experts from companies, including Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon.
Including interest income and various non-operating income, Scaler’s total revenue stood at INR 324.3 Cr in FY23 as against INR 66.5 Cr in the previous year.
It is pertinent to note that Scaler raised $55 Mn in its Series B funding round at a $710 Mn valuation from Lightrock India, Tiger Global, among others, towards the end of FY22. The startup then planned to deploy the fresh capital for international expansion, launch new product offerings, onboard new talents, and make strategic acquisitions.
In fact, speaking at Inc42’s The Makers Summit, Scaler cofounder Singh had said in April 2022 that the company had already expanded to the US market and reached $1 Mn monthly revenue in the market.
In its FY23 financial filing, Scaler said, “The aforesaid loss is incurred primarily on account of current focus of group in launching new courses resulting in higher expenditure in marketing and sales promotion activities.”
Zooming Into Expenses
Scaler’s total expenses shot up 173% to INR 654.6 Cr in FY23 from INR 240 Cr in the year before, with employee benefit expenses single-handedly contributing over 49% to it.
Employee Cost: The startup’s expenditure in this bucket jumped almost 172% to INR 322.1 Cr in the reporting period from INR 118.5 Cr in FY22.
In that, INR 252.7 Cr was spent on salaries and wages.
Ad Expenses: Scaler spent INR 143.3 Cr towards advertising promotional expenses, which jumped over 128% from INR 62.7 Cr in FY22.
IT Expenses: The startup’s IT spending also saw a massive 148% rise year-on-year (YoY) to INR 22 Cr in FY23.
Miscellaneous Expenses: Scaler’s spending in this bucket stood at INR 116.1 Cr in FY23, almost a 250% surge YoY.
As the company’s expansion plan continues, Scaler acquired Delhi-based Pepcoding for an undisclosed amount in 2023.
