Edtech Giant Sells for Fraction of Peak Value

Unacademy has been acquired by UpGrad for slightly more than $200 million. This transaction represents a significant reduction in value for Unacademy, occurring six years after it achieved unicorn status. Unacademy's co-founder and CEO, Gaurav Munjal, openly stated that the company raised funds during a market peak but ultimately sold at a much lower valuation.

Munjal emphasized that the decision to sell was not forced, as Unacademy was in a strong financial position with Rs 400 crore in revenue and Rs 900 crore in the bank. The acquisition was pursued after discussions with UpGrad founder Ronnie Screwvala, with a belief that the merger would benefit the broader education sector.

Beyond financial metrics, Unacademy is credited with fostering a generation of popular educators whose content garnered billions of views. Its language-learning app, Airlearn, quickly became a top global download. Munjal acknowledged that while Unacademy aimed to democratize education, it did not capture all the economic value from its mission.

The acquisition follows Unacademy's four ESOP buybacks, which Munjal highlighted as providing real value to employees. He suggested that founders and investors did not realize as much value for themselves through these buybacks.