From $3.5 Bn To $200 Mn: upGrad Completes Unacademy Acquisition

After months of negotiations and regulatory clearances, edtech company upGrad completed its acquisition of Unacademy for a valuation of nearly $200 million. Unacademy co-founder Gaurav Munjal announced the deal closure on X, noting that while he raised funds at the peak, he sold at a fraction of that valuation. He expressed pride in the team's accomplishments between the two numbers.

The final transaction value represents a decline of over 94% from Unacademy's peak valuation of $3.5 billion in 2021. Unacademy has raised more than $830 million from investors including SoftBank, Peak XV Partners, Elevation Capital, Blume Ventures, and Meta. The acquisition will enable upGrad, led by Ronnie Screwvala, to enter the K-12 and competitive exam preparation markets. upGrad primarily focuses on higher education and professional upskilling.

The CCI approved the deal in July. Munjal stated that Unacademy was not forced into the transaction due to a cash crunch, as at the time of acquisition, the company had a topline of around ₹400 crore and about ₹900 crore in the bank, with most of its businesses being profitable or close to profitability. "With a topline of around 400 Cr, most businesses profitable or near-profitable, and 900 Cr in the bank, we had every option to keep going independently. Nobody was forcing this," Munjal stated.