Ronnie Screwvala co-founded upGrad has begun the process of acquiring Unacademy after signing a term sheet for an all-stock transaction.
The companies said the deal would be executed through a share swap, though they declined to disclose the valuation until the transaction is completed and regulatory filings are made.
Announcing the development in a post on X, upGrad co-founder Ronnie Screwvala said the agreement includes a break-fee clause if the deal does not close.
“We at upGrad have signed a term sheet to acquire Unacademy in an all-stock deal, with founder and CEO Gaurav Munjal staying on to build Unacademy and focus on what it does best, creating online education products that learners love,” Screwvala wrote.
He added that a combined entity could benefit from Unacademy’s product capabilities and upGrad’s broader learning ecosystem, which spans segments from school-level education to lifelong professional learning.
We at upGrad have signed a term sheet to acquire Unacademy in an all-stock deal, with Founder and CEO @gauravmunjal staying on to build Unacademy and focus on what it does best, creating online education products that learners love. We have also agreed to a break fee were we not…
— Ronnie Screwvala (@RonnieScrewvala) March 15, 2026
Unacademy co-founder Gaurav Munjal also confirmed the development, saying the proposed acquisition would be a “100% share-swap transaction”. He said valuation details would only be disclosed once the deal is formally closed.
The agreement follows earlier discussions between the two companies that collapsed in January after they failed to agree on valuation expectations.
While Munjal did not disclose the valuation, he said in December that Unacademy was valued below $500 million, down from a peak of about $3.5 billion.
Refocusing the business
Munjal said Unacademy had spent the past year restructuring parts of its business as it refocused on its core online learning products.
“We consolidated company-operated centres with franchise partners so we could refocus on what we do best, building great online education products,” he said.
He added that the company had completed a Rs 50 crore employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) buyback, with nearly 40% of former employees participating. Unacademy also currently holds more than $100 million in cash reserves, he said.
Post-acquisition, Munjal will stay as a co-founder and CEO of Unacademy.
Unacademy and upGrad have signed a term sheet for upGrad to acquire Unacademy in a 100% share swap deal.
Neither side will disclose the valuation until closing, when the papers are filed and the transaction becomes public.
In the last one year, a lot has happened at Unacademy:…
— Gaurav Munjal (@gauravmunjal) March 15, 2026
Founded in 2015, Unacademy was one of the fastest-growing startups during the pandemic-driven boom in online education, though it has since narrowed its focus to its test-preparation business amid tighter funding conditions across the sector.
The company has undertaken cost-cutting measures in recent years, including layoffs and operational restructuring, as edtech firms adjusted after the surge in demand during the pandemic.
Financial performance
Unacademy reported a 16% year-on-year decline in revenue to Rs 826.3 crore in the financial year ending March 2025, down from Rs 988 crore a year earlier. However, the company reduced its EBITDA loss by 38% to Rs 305 crore and cut its net loss by 31% to Rs 436 crore.
According to data platform Tracxn, Unacademy has raised about $880 million in funding and was last valued at roughly $3.5 billion in 2021. UpGrad has raised around $329 million and was last valued at about $2.25 billion in 2024.
Both companies have also expanded through acquisitions. Unacademy has previously bought startups including PrepLadder, CodeChef and NeoStencil, while upGrad has acquired firms such as Harappa Education, Talentedge, KnowledgeHut, Centum Learning and Internshala.
