Indian edtech startup upGrad closes its acquisition of rival Unacademy in an all-stock deal valuing Unacademy at ~$206M, down from its peak $3.5B valuation (Jagmeet Singh/TechCrunch)

Unacademy was acquired by UpGrad for a deal valued at slightly over $200 million, marking a significant drop from the company’s previous unicorn valuation six years ago. Founder and CEO Gaurav Munjal explained the discrepancy between the acquisition price and the company’s earlier valuation, noting that Unacademy raised funds during a peak period but exited at a much lower valuation. He emphasized that he wanted to be transparent about the transaction.

The acquisition, announced as an all-stock 100% share swap deal, sees Munjal remaining as CEO of Unacademy. This deal comes amid a broader correction in India’s edtech sector, which experienced aggressive fundraising and high valuations in recent years. However, Munjal highlighted that Unacademy entered the acquisition process in a position of financial stability.

The company reported annual revenues of around ₹400 crore, with most segments either profitable or close to profitability. Additionally, Unacadum had approximately ₹900 crore in cash reserves, enabling it to operate independently if needed.

Munjal revealed that the decision to merge with UpGrad was based on discussions with UpGrad’s founder, Ronnie Screwvala, and the belief that the combination would create more significant opportunities within the education sector. Beyond financial metrics, Munjal underscored Unacademy’s impact on the online education landscape, citing the platform’s popular educators whose YouTube content collectively amassed over 10 billion views.

He also highlighted Airlearn, Unacademy’s language-learning platform, which rapidly gained popularity, becoming one of the world’s top three most downloaded language-learning apps within two years.

Despite not fully realizing the financial value of its original mission to democratize education, Munjal affirmed that Unacademy transformed the structure of online learning in India and exerted influence on the broader industry. The acquisition follows several employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) buybacks conducted by Unacadum, which aimed to create value for employees.

Munjal stated that these initiatives were successful even though founders and investors did not achieve the same financial returns as seen during the company’s peak valuation period.