Acquisition · Education & Skilling

upGrad drops plans to acquire Unacademy over valuation differences

By Startup Enthusiast · 8 January 2026

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UpGrad, an online higher education platform, has dropped its plan to acquire Unacademy due to disagreements over the final valuation of the deal

Unacademy had reportedly sought a valuation of $300 Mn to $400 Mn, while upGrad was unwilling to match this, leading to the collapse of the talks

The failed acquisition comes amid a broader slowdown in India’s edtech sector, where valuations have sharply declined from their pandemic-era peaks

upGrad has dropped its plan to acquire Unacademy after months of discussions, as the two sides failed to agree on a final valuation.
Unacademy had reportedly sought a valuation of $300 Mn to $400 Mn, while upGrad was unwilling to match this, leading to the collapse of the talks.
Gaurav Munjal, co-founder and CEO of Unacademy, had acknowledged that the company was open to an M&A transaction if it resulted in a stronger entity.
Unacademy’s valuation may have fallen to below $500 million, sharply lower than its peak valuation of $3.5 billion in 2021.
Ronnie Screwvala, co-founder of upGrad, confirmed the deal was not proceeding due to valuation differences.
Unacademy has been in acquisition discussions with several players, including K-12 Techno Services, Allen, and upGrad, over the past 18 months.

The collapse of the talks comes against the backdrop of a prolonged slowdown in India’s edtech sector after the pandemic-driven boom.
Over the past 18 months, Unacademy has been reported to be in acquisition discussions with several players, including K-12 Techno Services, Allen, and upGrad.
Unacademy has been restructuring its operations and narrowing its focus as funding conditions tightened.

upGrad is an online higher education platform that offers courses in domains such as Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Machine Learning, and MBA.
upGrad partners with institutions like IIIT Bangalore, IIM Kozhikode, and Liverpool John Moores University to provide executive and postgraduate programs.
upGrad also offers offline bootcamps in areas like Data Science, AI-ML, and Tableau.
upGrad has a presence in both online and offline education, with a focus on upskilling and higher education.
upGrad has pursued selective acquisitions to strengthen its portfolio in the edtech sector.

Both upGrad and Unacademy are expected to chart their next phase separately in a sector that remains under pressure from slowing demand, consolidation, and increased scrutiny of business models.

Tiger Global (investor) — A global venture capital firm that has invested in multiple edtech startups, including Unacademy.
SoftBank (investor) — A Japanese multinational conglomerate that has invested in various tech and edtech ventures.
Peak XV Partners (investor) — A venture capital firm that has backed multiple Indian startups, including Unacademy.