Policy · Education & Skilling

Unacademy rolls back ESOP window change

By Startup Enthusiast · 6 January 2026

What they do

Unacademy is an online learning platform focused on exam preparation for over 200 exams

The company reversed a policy that gave employees only 30 days to exercise vested ESOPs after criticism

The move comes as Unacademy, once valued at $3.5 Bn, explores a potential sale to upGrad for about $300 Mn

Unacademy rolled back a change to its ESOP (employee stock option plan) exercise window, putting the amendment in abeyance.
The change had reduced the window to 30 days for employees to exercise vested ESOPs after leaving the company.
An ex-employee criticized the 30-day window on X, saying it forced employees to either pay taxes or forfeit their vested options.
CEO Gaurav Munjal clarified the decision was meant to protect employees in a potential low-valuation M&A deal.
Munjal explained that investors with liquidation preference (the right to get paid first in a sale) could legally wipe out all ESOP value.
The early window was intended to let employees convert vested options into common shares before those rights kicked in.
Munjal publicly confirmed in 2025 that Unacademy, once valued at $3.5 Bn in 2021, was on sale.
Unacademy explored acquisition talks with rivals Allen, K-12 Techno Services, and upGrad over the past year.

Unacademy raised millions during the pandemic when schools were shut, but cracks appeared as learning centres reopened.
Many acquisitions failed to materialize, and competition from offline rivals weighed on operations.
The company haemorrhaged cash building an offline vertical that failed.
Reports suggest Unacademy could be sold for as little as INR 2,650 Cr ($300 Mn) to Ronnie Screwvala-led upGrad.

Unacademy started as a YouTube channel in 2010 and launched as an edtech platform in late 2015.
It focuses on exam preparation and expanded into various verticals.
The website claims to be India's largest learning platform with over 10 crore learners.
It offers live classes, practice tests, mock tests, lecture notes PDFs, and a learning app.
The platform covers 200+ exams across 60+ exam categories, with 1,500+ daily live classes.
It has over 3.2 billion minutes watched, 14,000+ educators, and 1 million+ video lessons.

Unacademy will revisit its ESOP policy if needed, balancing employee and stakeholder interests.