UPSC Success Stories: He cracked AIIMS at 16, cleared UPSC at 22, and left IAS at 24 to build a nearly ₹2,000 crore startup

The journey of Unacademy co-founder Roman Saini reflects determination, ambition and the courage to take unconventional paths. Clearing some of India’s most challenging competitive examinations is no easy feat, yet Saini achieved remarkable academic milestones at a young age. He cracked the AIIMS entrance examination at 16 and went on to clear the UPSC Civil Services Examination at 22. However, despite securing these prestigious achievements, he had bigger ambitions. Driven by a vision to pursue something different, he eventually chose to leave a promising career and embark on an entrepreneurial journey.

Roman Saini’s Early Life and Education

Born into a middle-class family in Jaipur, Rajasthan, Saini displayed academic excellence from an early age. In 2008, when he was just 16, he cleared the AIIMS entrance examination. During that period, AIIMS conducted its own medical entrance test, which was later merged with the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) in 2020.

Following his success, Saini secured admission to AIIMS New Delhi, where he pursued medicine. He completed his MBBS at the age of 21 and subsequently worked as a junior resident doctor at the same institution.
Although he had a promising future in medicine, Saini was keen to explore new opportunities and take on another significant challenge.

How Roman Saini stated Co-founding Unacademy: From YouTube Channel to Edtech Giant

In 2015, Roman Saini teamed up with engineer and YouTuber Gaurav Munjal and Hemesh Singh to establish Unacademy. Their vision was to make quality education accessible to students preparing for competitive examinations, allowing them to learn from experienced educators without having to spend lakhs of rupees on expensive coaching programmes.

What began as a YouTube channel featuring free educational content gradually evolved into a comprehensive online learning platform. As its popularity grew among students, Unacademy expanded its offerings to include live interactive classes, recorded lectures, mock tests and specialised courses for examinations such as UPSC, IIT-JEE, NEET and several other competitive tests.
The platform quickly gained popularity and emerged as one of India’s leading names in the edtech industry.

Unacademy Net Worth

According to several reports, following its acquisition by upGrad in September 2026, Unacademy is currently valued at approximately ₹1,700 crore to ₹1,897 crore.