India's edtech landscape has entered a new phase as Unacademy has been acquired by rival upGrad in an all-stock transaction valued at about $206 million. The deal marks a steep reset from Unacademy's 2021 peak valuation of $3.44 billion.
upGrad co-founder and chairperson Ronnie Screwvala said Unacademy shareholders will receive upGrad shares, while angel investors were paid out at closing. Unacademy co-founder and CEO Gaurav Munjal confirmed that the transaction has now been completed.
Founded in 2015, Unacademy grew rapidly during the pandemic era, when online learning demand surged and the company expanded aggressively. As the education market normalized, the startup shifted gears, tightened spending, and reworked parts of its business to improve efficiency.
Despite the valuation drop, Munjal said the company still had around ₹9 billion in cash and annual revenue of roughly ₹4 billion. He also noted that several of its businesses were already profitable or close to it, and that the company could have continued independently.
The acquisition includes Airlearn, Unacademy's language-learning app, which will remain within the group for now. The Unacademy brand will stay in place, and Munjal will continue leading the business with a focus on online learning and Airlearn.
upGrad said the combination strengthens its reach across online and offline education, while Unacademy said its platform serves 10 million users in more than 150 countries. The group has also surpassed 10 billion views for its free education videos on YouTube.
With the deal now closed, the move reflects how Indian edtech is evolving from rapid expansion to focused integration and global product building. It may help shape a more durable, internationally connected future for digital learning.
