upGrad has completed its acquisition of Unacademy in a transaction valued at more than $200 million, bringing the edtech platform and its businesses into the upGrad ecosystem.
The deal, valued at around Rs 1,955 crore, has been structured as a 100% share swap, with Unacademy’s investors receiving shares in upGrad. The transaction marks a significant shift for Unacademy, which was valued at $3.4 billion in 2021.
Unacademy co-founder and CEO Gaurav Munjal will continue to lead the company following the acquisition. AirLearn, Unacademy’s language-learning business, will also become part of the upGrad portfolio.
Munjal acknowledged the contrast between the company’s earlier valuation and the current transaction, saying, “We raised at a peak, but sold at a fraction of that. I’m not going to dress these facts up.”
According to Munjal, Unacademy currently has a topline of around Rs 400 crore, with most of its businesses either profitable or approaching profitability. The company also has around Rs 900 crore in the bank. He said the transaction was not driven by financial pressure but was chosen as a path that made sense for the wider ecosystem and shareholders.
As part of the integration, Unacademy, PrepLadder, AirLearn and Graphy will operate from Bengaluru, while PrepLadder’s headquarters will shift from Chandigarh.
The transaction also includes an employee stock option exercise worth Rs 45 crore, with around 1,000 of Unacademy’s 1,100 former employees participating.
The acquisition follows a prolonged period of discussions between the two companies. Initial talks began in November 2025 but were discontinued in January after the companies were unable to reach an agreement on valuation. Discussions resumed in March, eventually leading to a term sheet for a 100% share swap that also included a break fee.
The Competition Commission of India cleared the merger on July 7, paving the way for its completion.
The deal comes at a time when India’s edtech sector has been undergoing consolidation following the rapid expansion of online learning during the pandemic. As funding conditions tightened and growth moderated, several companies across the sector moved towards cost reduction, restructuring and consolidation.
For upGrad, the acquisition expands its presence in online test preparation while adding Unacademy, PrepLadder, AirLearn and Graphy to its broader education portfolio.
