India at the core of Coursera’s R&D and product innovation push, says Global CEO Greg Hart
The edtech platform has expanded its development centre in India to support national skilling initiatives like the National Skills Qualification Framework, positioning the country as both a key talent base and a strategic market.
India is already Coursera’s second-largest market after the US, with 31 million learners growing at about 20% year-on-year. The company has also deepened ties with state governments such as Kerala and Odisha, where it provides student and workforce training, while Indian universities are leveraging Coursera’s catalogue to offer up to 40% of credits online.
Pricing has been another big shift. To address affordability concerns, Coursera recently introduced regionally aligned pricing that makes learning nearly 60% cheaper in India, with subscriptions now starting at ₹1,699 per month. In addition, the company has launched a course preview model that gives learners access to the first module of most courses—including graded assignments and AI-powered features—before committing to pay.
Localisation is a central plank of Coursera’s India push. Courses are now available in 26 languages, including Hindi, with Odia added this year to strengthen its partnership with Odisha. Hart said the goal is to ensure access across regions and communities, making high-quality learning content available in learners’ preferred languages.
Indian enterprises have also emerged as major content creators. Of the 4,000 courses built globally through Coursera’s AI-powered Course Builder since 2023, nearly half—around 1,900—came from Indian companies. This reflects both demand for workforce upskilling and India’s growing role in shaping course content.
Below is the verbatim transcript of the interview.
Q: Almost a year since you took over, Greg, let me start by asking you how Coursera and your journey at Coursera so far has been.
Hart: The journey has been fantastic so far. The mission for Coursera has never been more relevant for the world in terms of providing people the skills they need to transform their lives, particularly in this time of incredibly rapid change with Gen AI transforming how all aspects of work are done. It’s been a fantastic start, and we’re really looking forward to what we’re unveiling at Coursera Connect, our annual conference. We have a slew of different AI-powered features that we’re rolling out and announcing this week, and I’m happy to share more about those with you.
Q: Are you going to be building more proprietary AI tools? Because that’s what the future seems to suggest. Take me through what the plan is on AI for you specifically.
Hart: In the same way that everybody is reading about AI, we’ve been using AI since its earliest days. Very shortly after ChatGPT launched in November 2022, we rolled out a number of AI-driven features—Coursera Coach, Coursera Course Builder, and several others—and we continue to improve on those.
A few of the things we are announcing at Coursera Connect this week include Skill Tracks, which is a data-backed learning solution that maps the relationships between jobs, skills, and learning content so learners can master the right skills for the role they’re in or want to have.
There’s Role Play, which builds off Coursera Coach, our AI-driven tutor. It helps learners build job-ready skills and practice soft skills through interactions with AI personas.
Course Builder is another AI-driven feature that’s been live since 2023, and we’re now making it available to all our university and industry partners to help them build and scale content faster. An interesting point: since 2023, our enterprise customers have built roughly 4,000 courses for their workforces using Course Builder. Nearly half of those—1,900—have been built by our enterprise customers in India. That’s been a phenomenal success for Coursera, especially with companies in India.
We’re also announcing new partnerships with world-class universities like the University of Cambridge in the UK, as well as industry leaders. So, it’s a very exciting conference.
Q: But I want to specifically ask you about OpenAI doubling down on education and the ed-tech space. How do you intend to take on OpenAI? What will be the strategy to differentiate yourself, especially in a market like India?
Hart: I don’t view OpenAI so much as competition as a huge tailwind for everything within AI. We see an incredible amount of interest in AI on Coursera. So far this year, we’re seeing an average of 13 enrollments per minute in Gen AI content in 2025. That’s been driven in part by the fact that we now have more than 1,000 Gen AI courses available on Coursera, coming from world-class universities.
One of the things that differentiates Coursera is our deep partnerships with universities. We grew out of academia, with our co-founders being professors at Stanford. Since then, we’ve expanded to a wide range of partnerships in both academia and industry.
Another core strength is the suite of AI-driven features we’ve built, layered on top of the rich course catalogue. Together, they create an interactive experience that equips learners with real-world skills supported by high-quality content.
Q: Let’s talk about India specifically, Greg. The aspiration is to make India your largest market. It is already second after the US. There’s been a deep strategic partnership with India both as a market and a talent base. What do you intend to do now when it comes to localisation, pricing, and building out your ambition for India?
Hart: India is in the midst of a transformation to a skills-first economy, and for that to succeed it will require deep partnerships across government, academia, and industry. All three groups are partnering closely with Coursera to drive impact at scale.
India is our second-largest market by learners, with 31 million learners on Coursera—growing at about 20% year over year. We also have over 270 enterprise customers, with Reliance being a marquee one. States like Kerala and Odisha are partnering with us for job and student training.
Ernst & Young forecasts that AI could add up to $1.5 trillion—or 36% of last year’s GDP—to the Indian economy by 2030. But right now, India still ranks relatively low on Coursera’s AI maturity index. So, there’s a huge opportunity, and we’re very focused on expanding access to high-quality education, particularly AI-focused learning.
We’re doing this through AI translations and dubbing. Courses have been translated into 26 languages, including Hindi. This year we’re adding Odia to support our Odisha partnership. We’ll continue expanding language options to ensure access for everyone.
Q: Speaking of access, what about pricing, Greg? That’s been a big concern in India. Many argue the standard pricing model constrained growth. How are you addressing that?
Hart: We recently announced regionally aligned pricing that makes more sense for consumers in India. Learning is now 60% more affordable, starting at ₹1,699 per month—about $20.
We also launched a new course preview model that gives full access to the first module of most courses, including graded assignments, video content, and AI-powered features like Coach. This provides a complete learning experience upfront before learners decide to pay.
Q: But India is also important as a talent base, and you’re doubling down on R&D here. Walk us through that.
Hart: One of the reasons we’ve invested in India and expanded our development center here is the fantastic talent pool. India has world-class engineers, and culturally there’s strong alignment with Coursera’s mission. The government’s focus through initiatives like the National Skills Qualification Framework shows how committed India is to upskilling its population. Coursera and our Development Centre in India are a great way to support that initiative.
Q: Partnerships, Greg—you mentioned 270 enterprise customers. Besides Reliance, you’ve got L&T and others. What’s the plan for deepening enterprise relationships, especially with India’s large MSME segment? And what about more academic partnerships?
Hart: Coursera for Campus is the focus of our academic partnerships. Universities not only create content on Coursera but also use our catalogue to provide for-credit classes to their students. In India, up to 40% of credits can be taken online. That’s a huge opportunity for institutions to leverage our world-class content.
We intend to both deepen and broaden these partnerships. On the workforce side, Skill Tracks are directly relevant for companies. We’re launching four Skill Tracks—software and product, IT, data, and Gen AI. These provide targeted pathways to help employees upskill for the specific jobs they’re in.
Q: Let’s talk about monetisation, Greg. How much of a challenge is it in India and other markets?
Hart: Actually, we were adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow positive in 2024. We have no debt and $775 million in cash on the balance sheet. The company is in a very strong financial position.
In Q2, we grew 10% year over year, balanced across consumer and enterprise. We also raised our full-year revenue guidance and increased our EBITDA margin target by 100 basis points to 8%. Coursera is on solid financial footing and moving in the right direction.
Q: Speaking of direction, what have you changed since taking over, and what do you intend to prioritise now?
Hart: I’m about seven months into the role. From the beginning, I’ve focused heavily on our customers—both individual learners and enterprise clients—while accelerating product innovation.
Skill Tracks, Role Play, and the expansion of Course Builder are examples of that innovation. Another big focus is ensuring Coursera equips learners with the skills most needed today, not just offering a catalogue of courses. Skill Tracks, for instance, transforms Coursera into a real compass that helps people gain the right skills for today’s rapidly changing world.
Q: What do you see as the headwinds, Greg?
Hart: I’m an optimist, so I focus on opportunities. But yes, the global macroeconomic environment is uncertain—tariffs, shifting alliances, and so on. The beauty of Coursera is that we serve the entire world. We can’t rely on one market alone, so we build offerings that work for learners everywhere. That diversification helps us navigate headwinds.
Q: Your business may not be tariff-proof but certainly less vulnerable since you’re not shipping physical goods. What about on the enterprise side?
Hart: On the enterprise side, there are two countervailing forces. On the one hand, uncertainty and tariffs can dampen spending. On the other, companies face the existential challenge of adapting their workforce for AI. Those that recognise now is the moment to invest in reskilling will keep spending. I can’t predict the future, but I’m optimistic that this push to remain competitive will outweigh caution.
Q: Back to localisation—beyond offering courses in 26 languages, what about creating content specific to India?
Hart: Course Builder is a great way to do that. It allows both enterprise and university partners to create highly relevant content using AI. Of the 4,000 courses created with Course Builder so far, 1,900 came from Indian enterprises. That shows how content can blend Coursera’s rich catalogue with local, company-specific needs. Now universities and industry partners in India will be able to do the same, creating courses highly relevant for Indian students.
Q: Greg, I’m curious about the experience you had at Prime Video. How do you marry that with what you’re attempting to do here at Coursera in an AI world?
Hart: I was fortunate to work at Amazon for a long time, where I led the launch and creation of Alexa from the ground up. Then, as you mentioned, I led Prime Video for the last three years I was at Amazon. Coursera is a content business like Prime Video, but they’re very different. Prime Video’s intent is to entertain; Coursera’s intent is to educate. That’s an incredibly rewarding focus.
One of the things I bring from my time at Amazon to Coursera is a deep focus on leveraging product innovation and the pace of innovation to deliver better customer experiences. In the case of Coursera, the fantastic aspect is that it’s not just delivering a better shopping experience or a more entertaining way to watch something—it’s delivering life-changing skills. That’s incredibly empowering for me and, hopefully, for learners around the world as well.
Q: What indications are you getting from the labour market? We’re looking at job numbers coming in from the US, and we’re tracking them here in India too. What are you seeing in terms of the skills that will be required in the next few years?
Hart: As I mentioned, AI is obviously a critical one, and we see that playing out with 13 enrollments per minute in Gen AI content. But we’re also seeing growth in everything related to software, IT, data, and business. Those are big trends, and I don’t think they’re temporary. I believe they will continue and even accelerate.
One of the big opportunities for India is workforce transformation. In 10 years, India is forecast to contribute 24% of the global workforce, but only 2.2% of India’s workforce is formally skilled today. That’s a huge gap to address. According to the International Labour Organisation, 47% of Indian workers are underqualified for their jobs. Giving those workers the skills they need is incredibly important, and that’s one of the reasons Coursera is so focused on delivering a skills-first learning experience.
Q: In my last conversation with your predecessor, we talked about how Coursera was helping bridge the gender gap, specifically from a skills point of view in India. Is that still the case?
Hart: It is still the case. Some of the AI features I mentioned are a fantastic way to level the playing field. For example, we see a higher percentage of women interacting with Coursera Coach. That’s also true for first-time learners and those without college degrees.
One reason is that Coach lowers the stakes. It’s easy to interact with Coach, and you’re not doing it in front of a physical classroom where you might feel hesitant. That’s a fantastic aspect of online education in general, and certainly of the AI features we’ve built into Coach. I believe this will continue to play out.
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