<p>Bengaluru: Unacademy is now in talks for potential mergers and acquisitions (M&A), as its co-founder Gaurav Munjal said, "If we find a win-win situation where consolidation can lead to a stronger entity, we will go ahead with this."</p>.<p>The Bengaluru-based EdTech company, which has completed 10 years since its official launch, is now valued at under $500 million, compared to $3.5 billion, three years ago. According to reports, UpGrad is in talks to acquire Unacademy in a deal that could value the firm at below $400 million.</p>.<p>"Three years ago, I used to care a lot about this (valuation), which probably led us to make some bad decisions — this chase of valuation. But today, I care more about building great products, having great unit economics, and growing profitably," he said in a post on X.</p>.Unacademy founder denies reports of the startup being on the block.<p>In a detailed post, Munjal said, "From the beginning, we always thought of ourselves as a tech company operating in education. Unlike every other player in the market, which behaved like an education company using tech to enable them. That's why we had features like streaks, knowledge hats, and a lot of gamification built in for educators and learners...Then, in 2019, just one year before COVID hit, we launched a subscription product where learners could buy a subscription and get access to live classes from the best educators for their exam.”</p>.<p>The product was an instant hit. From zero revenue in January 2019 to $1.8 million revenue in September 2019, it was one of the fastest growing companies to get to almost $20 million Bookings ARR (annual recurring revenue) in nine months, he informed.</p>.<p>The company saw three back-to-back funding rounds, and from being a $100-million valuation at the start of 2019, the startup was at a $1.5-billion valuation by September 2020.</p>.<p>But in 2022, three things happened simultaneously: The entire game changed. The game was no longer about raising funds and showing top-line growth, but it was about profitability; Learners went back to offline centres post-COVID, and "a few competitors copied every single thing about our product and our YouTube playbook and launched a one-tenth cheaper product", he added.</p>.<p>In 2024, as part of the company's efforts to streamline operations and enhance business efficiency, it underwent a restructuring exercise and laid off 250 employees. The company had said it was necessary to consider the company's goals and vision for the year.</p>.<p>Munjal added that the startup is now back to following its initial mission — making great educational products and making them accessible. "In hindsight, the best year for Unacademy was not 2021, it is 2025...A few bad strategic calls set us back by a few years, but I am glad that we are stronger that we ever were," he added in the post.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: Unacademy is now in talks for potential mergers and acquisitions (M&A), as its co-founder Gaurav Munjal said, "If we find a win-win situation where consolidation can lead to a stronger entity, we will go ahead with this."</p>.<p>The Bengaluru-based EdTech company, which has completed 10 years since its official launch, is now valued at under $500 million, compared to $3.5 billion, three years ago. According to reports, UpGrad is in talks to acquire Unacademy in a deal that could value the firm at below $400 million.</p>.<p>"Three years ago, I used to care a lot about this (valuation), which probably led us to make some bad decisions — this chase of valuation. But today, I care more about building great products, having great unit economics, and growing profitably," he said in a post on X.</p>.Unacademy founder denies reports of the startup being on the block.<p>In a detailed post, Munjal said, "From the beginning, we always thought of ourselves as a tech company operating in education. Unlike every other player in the market, which behaved like an education company using tech to enable them. That's why we had features like streaks, knowledge hats, and a lot of gamification built in for educators and learners...Then, in 2019, just one year before COVID hit, we launched a subscription product where learners could buy a subscription and get access to live classes from the best educators for their exam.”</p>.<p>The product was an instant hit. From zero revenue in January 2019 to $1.8 million revenue in September 2019, it was one of the fastest growing companies to get to almost $20 million Bookings ARR (annual recurring revenue) in nine months, he informed.</p>.<p>The company saw three back-to-back funding rounds, and from being a $100-million valuation at the start of 2019, the startup was at a $1.5-billion valuation by September 2020.</p>.<p>But in 2022, three things happened simultaneously: The entire game changed. The game was no longer about raising funds and showing top-line growth, but it was about profitability; Learners went back to offline centres post-COVID, and "a few competitors copied every single thing about our product and our YouTube playbook and launched a one-tenth cheaper product", he added.</p>.<p>In 2024, as part of the company's efforts to streamline operations and enhance business efficiency, it underwent a restructuring exercise and laid off 250 employees. The company had said it was necessary to consider the company's goals and vision for the year.</p>.<p>Munjal added that the startup is now back to following its initial mission — making great educational products and making them accessible. "In hindsight, the best year for Unacademy was not 2021, it is 2025...A few bad strategic calls set us back by a few years, but I am glad that we are stronger that we ever were," he added in the post.</p>