Business & Finance
India’s Unacademy acquired by rival upGrad for $206 million
The all-stock acquisition represents a 94% decline from Unacademy's peak valuation of $3.44 billion in 2021.
The short version
- Indian edtech startup Unacademy has been acquired by its rival upGrad in an all-stock deal valued at approximately $206 million (₹19.55 billion).
- The transaction includes the entire Unacademy group, such as PrepLadder, Graphy, and the language-learning app Airlearn, with no immediate layoffs planned for its 1,000 employees.
- Unacademy's co-founder Gaurav Munjal will remain as CEO, and the company will retain its brand under upGrad's ownership.
Key facts
- The acquisition of Unacademy by upGrad was completed on Monday, roughly six months after it was initially announced in March.[TechCrunch]
- The $206 million deal price is about 94% lower than Unacademy's peak valuation of $3.44 billion in 2021.[TechCrunch]
- At the time of the sale, Unacademy had approximately $94.8 million (₹9 billion) in cash reserves and roughly $42.13 million (₹4 billion) in annual revenue.[TechCrunch]
- While Unacademy shareholders received upGrad stock, angel investors were cashed out at the close of the transaction.[TechCrunch]
- Unacademy, which raised about $880 million across 13 funding rounds, had faced a sharp market downturn alongside other Indian edtech startups after physical classrooms reopened post-pandemic.[TechCrunch]
What remains uncertain
- It is not yet determined whether Unacademy's language-learning app, Airlearn, will be developed internally or if they will raise external capital for it, with a decision expected in about six months.[TechCrunch]