Acquisition · Education & Skilling

upGrad acquires Unacademy via share swap

By Startup Enthusiast · 15 March 2026

What they do

UpGrad is an online education company offering courses and learning tools

It signed a term sheet to acquire all of Unacademy through a share swap deal

The combined entity will have revenues near the market leader Physics Wallah

upGrad signed a term sheet to acquire 100% stake in Unacademy.
The transaction uses a share swap method where no cash changes hands initially.
Earlier merger talks collapsed in January due to a valuation mismatch between the parties.
Unacademy co-founder Gaurav Munjal will stay on as CEO after the acquisition closes.
upGrad co-founder Ronnie Screwvala confirmed the acquisition agreement with Unacademy.
The deal includes a break fee clause if the transaction does not close successfully.
This marks upGrad's second acquisition in one month following its purchase of Internshala.
upGrad has completed more than seven acquisitions since 2022 to expand its portfolio.

The combined entity will generate approximately ₹2,400 Cr in operating revenues for FY25.
Munjal acknowledged that Unacademy's realistic valuation is closer to $500 Mn despite past highs.
Unacademy previously held a $3.5 Bn valuation during an external funding round.
The move consolidates the online education sector amid intense competition and financial stress.

Unacademy operates an AI-driven learning platform called Airlearn gaining global traction.
The company consolidated its company-operated centres with franchise partners to focus on online products.
Unacademy reported FY25 revenue of Rs 826.3 Cr which was down 16% year-on-year.
The company reduced its EBITDA loss by 38% to Rs 305 Cr in FY25.
Unacademy's net loss decreased by 31% to Rs 436 Cr in the same period.
The firm maintains strong cash reserves exceeding $100 Mn to support operations.
Unacademy completed a Rs 50 crore ESOP buyback involving nearly 40% of former employees.
Investors like Tiger Global and SoftBank backed Unacademy with over $830 Mn raised total.

The transaction requires closing under the terms of the signed share swap agreement.
upGrad continues to pursue stressed assets like those of BYJU'S under insolvency.

Tiger Global (investor) — Global investment firm that backed Unacademy.
Peak XV Partners (investor) — Venture capital firm involved in Unacademy's funding rounds.
SoftBank (investor) — Technology investment fund that participated in Unacademy financing.
WaterBridge Venture (investor) — Investment vehicle supporting Unacademy's growth.
Meta (investor) — Technology giant that invested in Unacademy.