upGrad acquires Unacademy for under $200 million

Edtech major upGrad has completed its acquisition of Unacademy for a reported sum of just over $200 million. This move expands upGrad's reach into the K-12 and competitive exam preparation segments, areas previously outside its core focus on higher education and professional upskilling.

Gaurav Munjal, co-founder of Unacademy, confirmed the closure of the transaction, acknowledging that the company raised funds at a peak valuation but was sold at a fraction of that price. He clarified that Unacademy was not compelled to sell due to a cash crunch.

The final deal value represents a decline of more than 94% from Unacademy's peak valuation of $3.5 billion in 2021. The startup had previously raised over $830 million from investors including SoftBank and Peak XV Partners.

Munjal stated that Unacademy had a topline of approximately ₹400 crore and around ₹900 crore in the bank at the time of the acquisition, with most of its businesses being profitable or nearing profitability.

The acquisition received approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in July.