New Delhi: India’s edtech shake-up is picking up pace again. Unacademy is now set to be acquired by rival upGrad in a 100 percent share-swap deal, bringing two big online learning players under one roof. The move comes at a time when the sector is still adjusting after the post-pandemic slowdown.
Unacademy co-founder and CEO Gaurav Munjal confirmed in a post on X that both companies have signed a term sheet. The deal value is not public yet. Munjal had earlier said the company’s valuation dropped below $500 million, a sharp fall from its $3.5 billion peak in 2021.
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
Deal structure and leadership clarity
Ronnie Screwvala, Chairperson and Co-Founder of upGrad, said Munjal will continue to lead Unacademy after the acquisition. Screwvala wrote, “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.”
He added, “They disrupted the sector once, and now with AI they plan to do it again. We are already seeing Airlearn gain global traction.”
There is also a break fee in place if the deal does not close.
From boom to reset
The backdrop is hard to ignore. India’s edtech boom cooled after classrooms reopened, the demand for online test prep dropped, companies cut costs and shut expansion plans, and the focus shifted back to core digital products
Munjal admitted the shift clearly. “Unacademy helped invent the modern edtech playbook. Along the way we lost some focus and market share, and the sector itself has not seen enough real product innovation in recent years.”
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
What changes next for edtech
Unacademy still holds over $100 million in cash reserves. It has also trimmed its offline business and moved back to online learning. A ₹50 crore employee stock buyback was completed recently, with about 40 percent participation from former staff.
The bigger story is consolidation. As upGrad is pushing a full-stack model from K-12 to lifelong learning, AI tools like Airlearn are becoming central to future growth, and smaller and weaker players are getting squeezed out.
The sector already saw Byju’s collapse into insolvency proceedings in 2024. At the same time, Physics Wallah has managed to stay profitable and expand.