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Entrepreneur
7 days ago
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Unacademy Co-founders Set to Exit, Shift Focus to New Venture AirLearn
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. In a significant leadership shift at Indian edtech unicorn Unacademy, co-founders Gaurav Munjal and Roman Saini are reportedly stepping down to dedicate their efforts to a new venture, AirLearn, a language learning app. This move marks a rare instance of original co-founders exiting a major Indian edtech company. Their departure follows that of the third co-founder, Hemesh Singh, who left in June 2023. Sumit Jain, co-founder of Unacademy's subsidiary Graphy, is expected to assume the leadership role. Jain joined Unacademy in 2020 after the acquisition of his startup Opentalk. According to The Economic Times, Munjal and Saini are now focused on scaling AirLearn, which has already achieved an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of USD 400,000 in the US, just months after its launch. Unacademy's board comprises representatives from SoftBank, General Atlantic, Bhavin Turakhia (Zeta), Sujeet Kumar (Udaan), along with Munjal and Saini. Data from TheKredible indicates the three original co-founders together held a 15% stake in the company. The leadership transition signals a new era for Unacademy, which is aiming to sustain and grow amid evolving market conditions. Munjal recently noted that the company has significantly reduced its core business cash burn—from over INR 1,000 crore annually to under INR 200 crore. With INR 1,200 crore in reserves and profitable units like Graphy and PrepLadder, Unacademy remains financially stable. The exit of its founding trio could usher in a fresh strategic direction for the edtech firm.
Time of India
28-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Unacademy founders exit operations amid strategic shift; Sumit Jain named CEO: Report
Unacademy, one of India's prominent edtech platforms, is undergoing a major leadership overhaul as co-founder and CEO Gaurav Munjal prepares to step down, with Sumit Jain set to take over, according to an Economic Times report citing people familiar with the matter. The transition marks a pivotal moment for the Bengaluru-based company, coming amid a broader strategic reset, an abandoned acquisition bid, and a shift in focus toward AirLearn- its emerging language learning application. Munjal's departure follows that of fellow co-founders Roman Saini and Hemesh Singh, effectively ending the operational involvement of the trio that started Unacademy as a YouTube channel a decade ago. Singh exited the company in June 2024, while Saini is now also stepping back from active duties. ET sources indicated that extensive conversations between the board and Munjal led to the decision. "The board and Munjal have been aligned on his exit, as he has been reluctant to lead the company's offline coaching expansion,' said one person cited in the report. The founders are expected to receive cash payouts while continuing to retain their equity. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Resort com tudo incluído na Bahia Palladium Hotel Group Undo Unacademy's pivot from online test preparation to offline coaching centres has proved challenging in a post-pandemic edtech landscape marked by reduced funding and consumer pullback. The company had explored an acquisition by Allen Career Institute in 2023 at a valuation of $800 million—far below its $3.4 billion peak—but talks collapsed over valuation disagreements. Sumit Jain, a current board member and former founder of Opentalk (acquired by Unacademy in 2020), will assume the role of CEO. He previously co-founded Commonfloor, later acquired by Quikr in 2016. The company's board includes high-profile investors such as SoftBank, General Atlantic, Nexus Venture Partners, Peak XV Partners, and prominent entrepreneurs Bhavin Turakhia and Sujeet Kumar. Tracxn data shows Munjal and Saini each own 3.4 percent, Singh holds 2.2 percent, while institutional investors collectively control significant stakes—Nexus and Peak XV at ~14 percent each, SoftBank at 12 percent, and General Atlantic at 11 percent. Unacademy has raised $880 million in total funding, including a $440 million round led by Temasek in 2021, with participation from Tiger Global, Dragoneer Investment Group, and Mirae Asset. Munjal is now expected to focus on AirLearn, formerly Unacademy Languages, which is being incubated under Unacademy Inc, a Delaware-registered entity. The app, positioned to rival Duolingo, has grown to 70,000 daily active users and achieved $2 million in annualised revenue. Preliminary funding talks for AirLearn are underway, and it may see backing from existing Unacademy investors. The company has also taken steps to stabilise its financials. For FY24, Unacademy reported a 7 per cent decline in operating revenue to Rs 840 crore, while net losses narrowed by 62 per cent to Rs 631 crore, attributed to aggressive cost-cutting and layoffs. In a recent townhall, Munjal said annual cash burn has dropped from over Rs 1,000 crore to under Rs 200 crore. The company currently holds reserves of Rs 1,200 crore (approximately $140–150 million), he confirmed. The leadership changes come as Unacademy faces mounting competition from Byju's- owned Aakash Institute and PhysicsWallah, which has filed confidential IPO papers at an estimated valuation of Rs 35,000–40,000 crore. Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
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Business Standard
28-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Unacademy CEO Gaurav Munjal steps down; Sumit Jain takes charge
Unacademy cofounder Gaurav Munjal is stepping down as CEO, with board member Sumit Jain set to take over, according to a report by The Economic Times. The leadership change comes amid broader organisational shifts, a failed acquisition deal, and a new focus on the company's standalone language-learning platform, AirLearn. Fellow cofounder Roman Saini is also exiting day-to-day operations, marking the end of an era for Unacademy's founding trio. The third cofounder, Hemesh Singh, had already left in June 2024. The three had originally launched Unacademy as a YouTube channel nearly a decade ago. Challenges in pivot to offline coaching Unacademy has been gradually moving away from its online test prep roots towards a more capital-intensive offline coaching model. However, the transition has been complex, with India's edtech sector grappling with a post-pandemic downturn. Munjal reportedly did not want to lead an offline coaching business, leading to a board-level consensus on his exit. Sumit Jain to lead Unacademy's next chapter Incoming CEO Sumit Jain, who joined Unacademy in 2020 after it acquired his startup Opentalk, brings deep entrepreneurial experience. He previously founded real estate platform Commonfloor, which Quikr acquired in 2016. Unacademy's board includes high-profile names such as SoftBank and General Atlantic, Zeta's Bhavin Turakhia, and Udaan cofounder Sujeet Kumar, alongside Munjal and Saini. According to Tracxn, Munjal and Saini each hold 3.4 per cent of Unacademy, while Singh owns 2.2 per cent. Among institutional investors, Nexus Venture Partners and Peak XV Partners each hold nearly 14 per cent, with SoftBank at 12 per cent and General Atlantic at 11 per cent. AirLearn emerges as new focus Munjal's departure comes as he shifts his focus to AirLearn, formerly Unacademy Languages. Positioned as a standalone entity and a competitor to Duolingo, AirLearn is reportedly exploring talks with investors and may see support from some Unacademy shareholders. At a recent town hall, Munjal described AirLearn as Unacademy's 'fastest-growing product', noting it had 70,000 daily active users and a $2 million annualised revenue run rate. He also said the company had cut its annual cash burn from over ₹1,000 crore to under ₹200 crore and still had ₹1,200 crore in reserves. Failed acquisition and financial snapshot The leadership shake-up comes as a potential acquisition deal with Kota-based Allen Career Institute fell through. Talks had valued Unacademy at around $800 million—down sharply from its $3.4 billion peak—but ultimately failed over valuation disagreements. Unacademy has raised a total of $880 million, with its last funding round of $440 million in August 2021 led by Temasek and backed by Tiger Global, Mirae Asset, and Dragoneer.
Economic Times
28-05-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
Exclusive: Unacademy founders Munjal, Saini set to exit, shift focus to AirLearn
ETtech (L-R) Roman Saini and Gaurav Munjal, cofounders, Unacademy Unacademy cofounder Gaurav Munjal is stepping down from his role as CEO and handing over the reins to Sumit Jain, amid a broader reset at the Bengaluru-based edtech company, a failed acquisition deal, and growing focus on its language learning app AirLearn, people familiar with the matter told ET. Roman Saini, fellow cofounder, is also moving out of an active role at the firm, these people added on the condition of anonymity. Munjal and Saini — along with Hemesh Singh, who left the startup in June 2024 — had cofounded Unacademy a decade ago as a YouTube departure of all three founders follows prolonged internal discussions between the company's shareholders and Munjal over Unacademy's future, amid struggles in its online exit comes as Unacademy continues to pivot away from its once-dominant online test prep model to a more capital-intensive offline strategy centred on physical coaching centres—a move that has proven challenging in the post-pandemic edtech downturn. Unacademy's board includes representatives from SoftBank and General Atlantic as well as Zeta founder Bhavin Turakhia and Udaan cofounder Sujeet Kumar besides Munjal and Saini. Incoming CEO Jain, who is also on the board, joined Unacademy in 2020 when he sold his startup Opentalk to the edtech company. Jain had founded real estate listing portal Commonfloor and sold it to Quikr, an online classifieds operator, in 2016.'Over the past year or more, the Unacademy board has been in talks with Munjal about his potential exit as he is not inclined on running an offline coaching centre,' said one of the persons cited. 'Now it has come to the point where they are all aligned and discussing the final terms of the founders leaving... The two of them will be handed a cash payout, but will likely continue to hold their shares in the firm.'According to data platform Tracxn, Munjal and Saini each hold a 3.4% stake in Unacademy. Singh, the third cofounder, owns 2.2%. Nexus Venture Partners and Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India) own nearly 14% each, while SoftBank holds 12%, followed by General Atlantic with around 11%.Unacademy's founders and board members did not respond to the change has long been in the works, it also coincides with Munjal's growing focus on AirLearn, formerly known as Unacademy Languages, which is being developed as a standalone company. The shift has stirred a debate within the board, with some directors initially opposing the idea of raising fresh capital for a spinout while the core business remained under pressure. Shifting goalposts AirLearn has held preliminary talks with potential investors and may see participation from some of Unacademy's existing shareholders, one person said. ET had reported on December 4 last year that Unacademy was in talks with Kota-based Allen Career Institute for a potential acquisition, valuing the company at around $800 million, a steep cut of over 75% from its peak valuation of $3.4 billion. The deal talks failed over differences in valuation. Unacademy has raised a total $880 million in funding. It last raised $440 million in an August 2021 round led by Singapore's Temasek with participation from Tiger Global, Dragoneer Investment Group, Mirae Asset Venture and other existing investors. Business under pressure Unacademy started life as a YouTube channel in 2015 after Munjal and Singh sold their earlier startup Flatchat to the test-prep segment, it competes with the likes of Byju's-owned Aakash Institute, and WestBridge Capital-backed PhysicsWallah, which has confidentially filed draft papers for an initial public offering at a Rs 35,000-40,000 crore Unacademy's online business declined in the post-pandemic period, the company pivoted toward expanding its offline presence, leading to multiple layoffs and significant reluctance to lead the physical coaching centre model contributed to senior management churn, adding to the uncertainty over the company's future, ET reported December operating officer Vivek Sinha resigned in August 2023. Chief financial officer Subramanian Ramachandran quit in October that increasing involvement in AirLearn — a consumer-facing app positioned as a competitor to Duolingo — reflects a broader shift in focus, amid growing headwinds for Unacademy's core business. The slowdown in India's edtech sector has led to a funding crunch, consolidation, and the collapse of the largest player, Byju's, which went FY24, Unacademy reported an operating revenue of Rs 840 crore, down 7% from the previous year. Its net loss narrowed to Rs 631 crore, a 62% reduction from FY23, helped by a series of cost-cutting measures and a recent townhall, Munjal told employees that over the past three years, Unacademy's cash burn had reduced from over Rs 1,000 crore annually to under Rs 200 crore. He said AirLearn was the 'fastest-growing product' within the group, hitting around 70,000 daily active users and an annualised revenue run rate of $2 million. AirLearn is housed under Unacademy Inc, the group's Delaware, US-incorporated entity. Munjal also said that the company had Rs 1,200 crore ($140-150 million) in the bank.
Time of India
28-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Unacademy founders exit stage; Ola Electric's freefall
Unacademy founders exit stage; Ola Electric's freefall Want this newsletter delivered to your inbox? Also in the letter: Exclusive: Unacademy founders Munjal, Saini set to exit, shift focus to AirLearn Why it matters: Backdrop: The big picture: Ola Electric slips to number three in EV two-wheeler market as rivals gain ground By the numbers: Rivals on the rise: TVS Motor and Bajaj Auto increased their market shares to 25% and 22.6%, respectively, in May, despite slight dips in absolute volumes. Ather Energy's share declined to 13.1%, from 14.9% in April. Mounting headwinds: Mismatch with targets: What's next: Sponsor ETtech Top 5 & Morning Dispatch! Why it matters: The opportunity: Reach a highly engaged audience of decision-makers. Boost your brand's visibility among the tech-savvy community. Custom sponsorship options to align with your brand's goals. What's next: Top AI firms pivot to profitability track leaving price wars behind Driving the news: Quote, unquote: Fresh challenges: Way ahead: Other Top Stories By Our Reporters US court asks Infosys, Cognizant to resolve case via informal deal: Oyo to meet bankers next week for third IPO attempt: Info Edge Q4 profit surges 8x to Rs 678 crore on one-time gains: Blackbuck turns in a profit of Rs 280 crore in Q4: Logistics SaaS startup Fleetx raises Rs 113 crore: Frinks AI raises $5.4 million in fresh round: Contineu raises $1.2 million: Global Picks We Are Reading Happy Wednesday! Unacademy cofounders are planning to exit the edtech firm as the company expands its offline footprint. This and more in today's ETtech Morning Dispatch.■ AI price tags■ Infosys-Cognizant legal spat■ BlackBuck turns profitableGaurav Munjal and Roman Saini, cofounders of Unacademy, are preparing to depart from the SoftBank-backed edtech firm as it doubles down on its offline coaching pivot, people in the know told us. Sumit Jain, who joined Unacademy in 2020 through the acquisition of his startup Opentalk, will take over as CEO, they leadership shake-up follows months of boardroom deliberations and coincides with the founders' growing focus on AirLearn, a standalone language learning app aiming to take on Duolingo. AirLearn has hit 70,000 daily active users (DAUs) and a $2 million revenue run rate, Munjal recently told and Saini are expected to receive a cash payout while retaining their equity in the company. Their departure follows Unacademy's scrapped $800 million deal with Allen Career Institute, as reported by us on December 4, and comes amid a wider edtech slump that has seen peers like Byju's valued at $3.4 billion, Unacademy has struggled to hold onto its pandemic-era highs. It posted Rs 840 crore in revenue for FY24 and cut net losses to Rs 631 crore. The company still has Rs 1,200 crore in the bank, according to Aggarwal, founder, Ola ElectricOla Electric, once the market leader in India's electric two-wheeler segment, fell to third position in May, ceding ground to legacy rivals TVS Motor and Bajaj Bhavish Aggarwal-led company's market share dropped to 20% during May 1–26, down from 22.1% in April, and a sharp decline from over 50% just 13 months ago. Registrations fell to 15,221 units—nearly 60% lower than the 37,388 units logged in May Electric's slump comes amid a broader sector slowdown and growing internal challenges, including regulatory scrutiny, operational inefficiencies, and concerns over after-sales service. The firm is also under investigation over discrepancies between reported and actual vehicle latest figures stand in sharp contrast to CEO Aggarwal's ambitious goal of 50,000 monthly unit sales, which is necessary to achieve breakeven. Earlier this month, Ola Electric approved raising up to Rs 1,700 crore through debt instruments—its first funding move since its initial public offering (IPO) in August 2024. The company's shares continue to trade below the Rs 76 issue price, closing at Rs 52.49 on intensifying competition and declining customer trust, Ola Electric faces an uphill task in regaining lost Top 5 and Morning Dispatch are must-reads for India's tech and business leaders, including startup founders, investors, policy makers, industry insiders and Reach out to us at spotlightpartner@ to explore sponsorship intelligence (AI) companies are now prioritising profitability after slashing prices by 65–90% last Anthropic, Meta, and Google are releasing new AI models at roughly flat or even higher rates. The cost of intelligence may decline, albeit at a slower pace, as companies are no longer rushing to train new models. This spells trouble for startups that depend on these models.'AI companies may not have reached an optimum pricing point but to a point where reduction in pricing is appearing to slow down,' said Naga Santhosh Josyula, cofounder of vibe coding platform price pressures, however, have led to several Indian startups struggling to scale AI applications, invest in R&D, and pass on cost savings to customers, ultimately causing them to depend on external funding.'Running production-grade agents at scale isn't cheap, and it impacts pricing strategies, performance tuning, and R&D investment decisions,' said Somit Srivastava, chief technical officer (CTO) wealthtech firm Startups need to be 'smart about AI usage,' either through model routing, hybrid stacks, or targeted agents, rather than waiting for prices to fall. TableSprint's Josyula said his company is reducing costs by using smaller or optimised models.A US court has asked both Infosys and Cognizant Technology Solutions to attempt to resolve the case by oral agreement . Failing to do this, they can 'seek an informal telephone conference with the court to attempt to resolve' the conflict, the bench Stays Ltd, the parent company of hospitality startup Oyo, is set to formally review proposals from merchant bankers next week as it prepares for a fresh attempt at an initial public offering (IPO), targeting a valuation of $5–7 billion, according to multiple people familiar with the Naukri parent saw its net profit rise to Rs 678 crore in the March quarter from Rs 88 crore on reclassification of a joint venture investment as financial investments and long-term capital gains tax rate change. Operating revenue increased 14% to Rs 750 crore during the aggregator BlackBuck owner Zinka Logistics saw a 31% year-on-year (YoY) increase in operating revenue, reaching Rs 121.8 crore, up from Rs 93.2 crore a year ago. It posted a net profit of Rs 280 crore , compared to a net loss of Rs 90.7 crore in the same quarter last Gurgaon-based firm raised Rs 113 crore in a funding round led by existing investors Indiamart Intermesh and Beenext (through its Accelerate Fund).Frinks AI has raised $5.4 million in a round led by Prime Venture Partners, along with Chiratae Ventures, as well as new investors Navam Capital and Zen Technologies founder Ashok startup Contineu has secured $1.2 million in a seed funding round led by SenseAI Ventures, with participation from Piper Serica Angel Fund.■ Google CEO Sundar Pichai on the future of search, AI agents, and selling Chrome ( The Verge ■ The math tutor and the missing $533 million ( Rest of World ■ WordPress has formed an AI team ( Techcrunch
