Acquisition · Education & Skilling

UpGrad's bid to buy Unacademy collapses

By Startup Enthusiast · 9 January 2026

What they do

UpGrad's acquisition talks collapsed over price disagreement; Unacademy sought $300-400 Mn valuation

The deal's failure reflects the edtech sector's post-pandemic struggles with high burn and low retention

Unacademy's valuation has fallen sharply from its $3.5 Bn peak in 2021

UpGrad's bid to acquire Unacademy has collapsed after months of talks.
Unacademy sought a valuation of $300 Mn to $400 Mn in the deal.
The deal collapsed due to disagreement on price; upGrad was unwilling to absorb Unacademy at that valuation.
Cofounder and group CEO Gaurav Munjal confirmed Unacademy was open to being sold about a month before the collapse.
Gaurav Munjal acknowledged Unacademy's valuation is likely below $500 Mn, just 14% of its $3.5 Bn 2021 peak.
Unacademy has been in acquisition talks with multiple companies including K-12 Techno Services, Allen, and upGrad over the past 18 months.
Exits of cofounders including Gaurav Munjal and Roman Saini signal internal stress.

The edtech sector has faced a post-pandemic slowdown with high burn rates and exam-prep saturation.
Weak retention and failed acquisitions squeezed Unacademy's margins and capital.
The collapse of this deal highlights the valuation gap between sellers and buyers in the current market.

Unacademy is India's largest learning platform with over 10 crore learners.
The platform offers preparation for 200+ exams including UPSC CSE, IIT JEE, NEET UG, Bank exams, and CAT.
It has 60+ exam categories, 1,500+ daily live classes, and 3.2 billion+ minutes watched.
Unacademy has 14,000+ educators and 1 million+ video lessons.
It provides live classes with chat, practice tests, mock tests, lecture notes PDFs, and multi-device access.
Unacademy has mobile apps on Android and iOS for learning anytime, anywhere.