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Ronnie Screwvala
UpGrad / UTV · Mumbai
Sold one empire to Disney for a billion dollars — then started over in his fifties to fix Indian higher education.
Multi-arc careerDisciplined capitalOperator's depth

Company
UpGrad / UTV
Journey
Moves that mattered.
- 1990Built UTV — India's first independent media empire.
- 2012Sold UTV to Disney for ~$1B.
- 2015Founded UpGrad — higher-ed online.
- 2024UpGrad among India's most-funded edtechs. Backs SwiggyMatrix, etc.
Struggles
Took on Bollywood incumbents in 90s without family backing. UpGrad faced 2023 edtech crash.
Family
Married to Zarina. Two daughters. Famously hands-on father.
Related on Empire
Keep reading inside Empire.
Around the web
External references & backlinks.
- ↗wikipedia.orgRonnie Screwvala on Wikipedia
- ↗google.comUpGrad / UTV — official site
- ↗news.google.comRonnie Screwvala in the news
- ↗crunchbase.comUpGrad / UTV on Crunchbase
External links open in a new tab. Empire is not affiliated with these publishers.
The full story
Ronnie Screwvala, in 1 chapters.
- Ch 01
The story
Sold one empire to Disney for a billion dollars — then started over in his fifties to fix Indian higher education.
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