New Delhi: Unacademy, one of India’s earliest and most valuable edtech startups, has been sold to its rival, upGrad, for over $200 million, which is 94 per cent less than its peak valuation in 2021.
Announcing the acquisition deal, Unacademy co-founder Roman Saini penned an emotional post on X on Tuesday.
“Unacademy is getting acquired by upGrad today. It has been one helluva journey since that stroll in LBSNAA when I was on the phone with @gauravmunjal and decided to quit IAS and build Unacademy,” Saini wrote.
Unacademy was one of the many edtech platforms that gained immense popularity during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Saini wrote that at one point, the platform was hosting 1 lakh live classes every month “during peak covid”, and that it helped many prepare for competitive exams online.
“I remember once I was taking a flight and a CISF officer looked at me curiously and recognised me. He thanked me because he could study online and prepare for his govt. exam while still on the job, and because going to an offline coaching centre was not an option for him. Unacademy has made countless such success stories possible,” said Saini.
Reflecting on Unacademy’s early days, Saini said initially it wasn’t easy to convince people to teach online, but later, the idea led to a “revolution”.
“When we started posting videos on YouTube, very few smart people were teaching online. Being an educator was still looked down upon. I remember that within the first month itself I must have called 200 people to teach online. This led to a revolution bigger than we had imagined. Suddenly we were doing millions of views, which eventually became billions. There are only very few top educators in India today who haven’t at some point taught on Unacademy. The impact that Unacademy has created for the ecosystem is immense,” the post read.
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The post-Covid slump
Unacademy’s rapid expansion during the pandemic was followed by a sharp slowdown as students returned to offline classrooms. The company’s aggressive spending and expansion into multiple segments, coupled with a challenging funding environment, forced it to cut costs, lay off employees, and shut or scale back several businesses.
Its valuation subsequently fell sharply from its 2021 peak of $3.4 billion dollar, as the edtech sector faced a broader post-Covid correction.
“The journey wasn’t easy. It never is. I remember once being up all night making videos just because our views were down and I didn’t want a month where we were not growing. Another time, Gaurav and I flew to China to meet an investor who didn’t even show up for the meeting. Whether it’s the sleepless nights, or the rejections, or the constant firefighting during good times and bad, it is a journey to remember,” Saini said.
The acquisition deal involves a 100 per cent share swap, which was approved by the Competition Commission of India in July. This means that Unacademy investors will get shares in upGrad, instead of a cash payout, according to The Times of India.
Gaurav Munjal will continue as the CEO of Unacademy.
(Edited by Aamaan Alam Khan)