Unacademy, once one of India’s most valuable edtech startups, is to be acquired by rival upGrad in an all-stock deal that will combine the country’s two leading online learning platforms.
On Sunday, Unacademy co-founder and CEO Gaurav Munjal said in a post on X that the two companies have signed a term sheet with upGrad to acquire Unacademy in a 100% stock-for-stock transaction, adding that the valuation will not be disclosed until the transaction is completed. The announcement comes more than three months after Munjal announced that Unacademy’s valuation had fallen below $500 million, down about 85% from its pandemic-era peak of $3.5 billion in 2021.
India’s once-booming ed-tech sector has struggled since pandemic-era lockdowns eased as students returned to classrooms and demand for online exam preparation and learning platforms cooled. Companies like Unacademy, which expanded aggressively during the pandemic, have since cut costs, scaled back offline efforts and refocused their core digital offerings.
upGrad co-founder Ronnie Screwvala said in a separate post that Munjal will continue to lead Unacademy following the acquisition, adding that the combination strengthens upGrad’s integrated model across K-12 education, upskilling and lifelong learning. Screwborough said the two companies have agreed to pay an undisclosed penalty if the deal doesn’t go through.
“Unacademy helped invent the modern educational technology handbook,” Munjal writes. “In the process, we’ve lost some focus and market share, and the sector itself hasn’t experienced enough true product innovation in recent years.”
Founded in 2015, Unacademy emerged as one of India’s most prominent edtech startups during the pandemic when millions of students turned to online learning platforms due to the lockdown. But as demand cooled after classrooms reopened, the company cut costs, laid off employees and restructured parts of its business.
Munjal said Unacademy now has more than $100 million in cash after spending the past year integrating its self-operated offline centers with franchise partners and refocusing on its core online learning products. The company also completed an employee share buyback worth 500 million rupees (about $5.4 million) with participation from about 40% of former employees, he said.
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According to PitchBook, Unacademy has raised approximately $854.3 million in 13 funding rounds, and its backers include investors such as SoftBank, Tiger Global, General Atlantic, and Peak XV Partners.
This drastic change has completely changed the competitive environment in India’s edtech sector. Byju’s, once the country’s most valuable startup, entered bankruptcy proceedings in September 2024 with its valuation reduced to virtually nothing.
Meanwhile, rival Physics Waller, once seen as an underdog in the field, is turning a profit and continuing to expand. The company made a strong public market debut late last year.
In recent months, Munjal has increasingly focused on Airlearn, an AI-first language learning app that mimics the gamified approach popularized by Duolingo. The changes caused friction with some Unacademy investors who felt the core edtech business was adrift in difficult times, people familiar with the matter told TechCrunch.
Still, Munjal said AirLearn is gaining traction in markets such as the US, UK, Germany and Canada, and argued that artificial intelligence could spark a new wave of innovation in education technology.
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