Unacademy and upGrad have signed a term sheet for upGrad to acquire Unacademy in a 100% share swap deal. The decision was announced by Ronnie Screwvala and Gaurav Munjal on social media platforms. Both parties have declined to disclose the valuation, stating that it will remain confidential until the deal closes and the necessary filings are made public. Gaurav Munjal will be continuing as the Co-Founder and CEO of Unacademy.
Also read: Transforming EdTech with Conversational AI Teaching Assistants
“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 and focus on what it does best, creating online education products that learners love. We have also agreed to a break fee were we not close. They disrupted the sector once, and now with AI they plan to do it again. We are already seeing Airlearn gain global traction. If this closes. upGrad’s integrated model with an expanded focus from K12 to forever learning will be on a strong trajectory,” said Ronnie Screwvala.
Also read: Edtech Giant upGrad Raises Rs 287 Crore in Debt
Gaurav Munjal said that over the past year several developments had taken place at Unacademy. The company consolidated its company-operated centres with franchise partners in order to refocus on its core strength of building strong online education products. He also noted that the firm completed a Rs 50 crore ESOP buyback, with nearly 40% of former employees already participating in the programme. In addition, Airlearn, the company’s first global offering, has been gaining meaningful traction in markets such as the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Canada. According to Munjal, the company’s cash reserves currently stand at more than $100 million.
Also read: Gaurav Munjal Shares Learnings from Byju’s Downfall
He further added: “Unacademy helped invent the Modern EdTech Playbook. Along the way we lost some focus and market share, and the sector itself has not seen enough real product innovation in recent years. AI will fundamentally reshape education, and EdTech may become one of its biggest beneficiaries. The opportunity to reimagine learning products has never been greater.” Along similar lines, Screwvala said: “This coming together will strengthen upGrad’s integrated model, with Unacademy under your leadership focusing on what it does best, building great online products. Looking forward to closing this. And Yes The Whole is Bigger than the Sum of Parts is our firm belief.”
