On March 15, Unacademy co-founder and CEO Gaurav Munjal posted on X, announcing that the company has signed a term sheet for upGrad to acquire Unacademy in a 100 percent share-swap deal. Founded by Ronnie Screwvala, the higher education and upskilling platform upGrad had been in discussions for several months to acquire SoftBank-backed Unacademy.
Although Munjal’s post mentioned that the valuation would not be disclosed until the transaction closes, it is noteworthy that the announcement comes not long after Munjal disclosed that Unacademy’s valuation had dropped below $500 million, down roughly 85 percent from its pandemic-era peak of $3.5 billion in 2021.
When the deal goes through, Munjal says that he will remain CEO of Unacademy and that he believes in upGrad's motto. “We share upGrad’s belief that ‘The Whole is bigger than the Sum of Parts’ and altogether we will impact students, learners and working professionals and build great products from K12 to Forever Learning,” the X post reads.
According to Yagnesh Sanghrajka, founder and managing partner, 247VC, this deal strengthens the outlook for consolidation and sheds light on the fact that it is becoming common among companies as surviving independently is becoming difficult for many single-segment edtech businesses. “The all-stock structure also reflects the current funding environment, where companies are more willing to merge, share equity and align with future growth rather than pursue expensive cash exits or upfront investments,” he says.
For Unacademy, this deal comes at a time when the company recently announced a refocus on its core business by exiting its company-operated offline centres and converting them into franchise partnerships. It also initiated the process of a Rs 50 crore employee stock ownership plan (Esop) buyback. Founded in 2015, Unacademy rose to become one of India’s most prominent edtech startups during the pandemic, as lockdowns pushed millions of students towards online learning platforms and test-preparation services. However, as classrooms and coaching institutes reopened after the pandemic, demand for purely online learning slowed down. In response, Unacademy moved to cut costs, lay off employees, and restructure parts of its business as it sought to streamline operations and focus on its core test-preparation segment.
In a separate post, upGrad founder Ronnie Screwvala says: “We at UpGrad have signed a term sheet to acquire Unacademy in an all-stock deal, with founder and CEO Gaurav Munjal staying on to build Unacademy. They disrupted the sector once, and now with AI they plan to do it again.”
Both upGrad and Unacademy have been emphasising an AI-first approach to their products. Unacademy’s AI-driven language learning platform, Airlearn, has been gaining traction in international markets including the US, UK, Germany and Canada. Meanwhile, upGrad has framed the potential merger as a means to accelerate an AI-led product strategy that spans the entire learning lifecycle.
According to experts, due to the merger, competitors, especially those like Physics Wallah, Vedantu, and Byju’s, will face pressure to rapidly implement AI-native features to maintain their relevance. AI-driven tutoring, personalised learning paths, and multilingual delivery will likely become baseline expectations for Indian learners.
According to Sunitha Viswanathan, Partner, Kae Capital, AI has the potential to fundamentally reshape edtech. “Many of the ideas the sector has long talked about, such as deeply personalised learning, a one-to-one tutor, or a patient learning coach, are now becoming possible at scale with AI. If implemented well, this shift could finally translate into measurable improvements in learning outcomes,” says Viswanathan.
Sanghrajka believes that AI integration is now the edtech sector's next test. “We’ll see with time whether it drives genuine learning outcomes and cost efficiency, or becomes the new excuse for undisciplined growth,” he says.
In India, online learning has already proven to be effective for adult learners and for students looking for test prep as a supplemental solution. Going forward, edtech companies that enable teachers with technology and training can improve outcomes rather than pure online learning.
As per Smita Deorah, co-CEO and co-founder, LEAD Group, any deal or consolidations among edtech players in India do not promise the growth of the sector, but learning outcomes. “It is not scale or lack of it that is important to consider, it is learning outcomes and delivering on them that's necessary for survival in India's edtech sector. Those companies and solutions that can deliver learning outcomes in a visible and proven manner will not only survive but thrive,” Deorah says.
Viswanathan believes that one of the reasons investors became wary of edtech was that over time the technology took precedence over the education. “Going forward, founders will need to keep the learner at the centre of any technological intervention, even when building with AI. If companies can combine sustainable growth with demonstrably better learning outcomes, capital will naturally return to the sector. We believe AI led innovation will drive renewed interest in edtech in the coming years,” notes Viswanathan.
First Published: Mar 17, 2026, 13:09
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