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Unacademy slashes core biz cash burn to Rs 200 Cr in 2025: Gaurav Munjal

EntrackrEntrackr · 8m ago
Unacademy slashes core biz cash burn to Rs 200 Cr in 2025: Gaurav Munjal
Medial

Unacademy slashes core biz cash burn to Rs 200 Cr in 2025: Gaurav Munjal Unacademy CEO Gaurav Munjal has shared an update on the company’s financial and operational performance. According to Munjal, Unacademy has reduced its cash burn in the core business from over Rs 1,000 crore annually three years ago to under Rs 200 crore this calendar year. This is about half of what the company spent last year. In a thread on social media platform X, Munjal said the company currently has Rs 1,200 crore in the bank and is in a “default alive” state. He added that some of Unacademy’s businesses, including Graphy and PrepLadder, are generating cash on a monthly basis. For context, the SoftBank-backed edtech unicorn cut its losses by 62% to Rs 631 crore in FY24, while its revenue remained flat during the period. Reflecting on past decisions, Munjal said edtech companies that grow through multiple acquisitions are unlikely to succeed in the current market. He said Unacademy had made this mistake earlier and is now focusing on profitability without getting distracted by external developments. On the offline front, Munjal said that around 70% of Unacademy’s centers are expected to be profitable at the center level this year. These centers are showing outcomes in exam categories such as JEE, NEET, and UPSC. He also pointed to Airlearn as the fastest-growing product within the group. Airlearn has recorded nearly 70,000 daily active users and $2 million in annual recurring revenue over the last 12 months. Munjal outlined three focus areas for the company: making the core business profitable, building tech products such as Airlearn and Graphy, and staying focused on internal goals instead of market noise.

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Unacademy to pivot from company operated centres to a franchise model

EntrackrEntrackr · 1d ago
Unacademy to pivot from company operated centres to a franchise model
Medial

Unacademy to pivot from company operated centres to a franchise model Unacademy's Gaurav Munjal added that several major exam preparation verticals such as UPSC, NEET PG and CAT have turned contribution margin positive. Edtech unicorn Unacademy is recalibrating its business with a sharper focus on profitable growth after a year of significant cost correction, according to an internal email sent by co-founder and CEO Gaurav Munjal to employees. In the communication, Munjal said that Unacademy reduced its test prep burn to around Rs 200 crore in calendar year 2024 from nearly Rs 450 crore earlier. The reduction followed a series of operational changes including shutting down underperforming initiatives and prioritising core businesses. He added that several major exam preparation verticals such as UPSC, NEET PG and CAT have turned contribution margin positive. Munjal further added that PrepLadder and Graphy were cash flow positive for the full year. Meanwhile, language learning platform Airlearn scaled its annual recurring revenue from about $200,000 at the start of 2025 to nearly $3 million by the end of the year. As part of its restructuring, Unacademy plans to exit its company operated offline centre business over the coming months by converting these centres into franchise partnerships. According to Munjal, the franchise model allows local operators to manage operations while Unacademy provides academics, technology and reach. He said the transition is expected to be completed by April, after which the company will have a significantly leaner cost structure. The internal email comes shortly after the acquisition talks between Unacademy and upGrad were called off due to valuation differences. The discussions had been underway for several months amid a broader slowdown in edtech deal activity and valuation resets across the startup ecosystem. upGrad co-founder Ronnie Screwvala later confirmed that the deal did not materialise. Munjal said the calendar year 2026 would be focused on growth rather than survival, with improving unit economics across online test prep and faster than expected growth in Airlearn. He added that Unacademy is now positioned to scale with greater financial discipline.

Yes, we are in M&A talks: Unacademy's Gaurav Munjal

EntrackrEntrackr · 1m ago
Yes, we are in M&A talks: Unacademy's Gaurav Munjal
Medial

Yes, we are in M&A talks: Unacademy's Gaurav Munjal Munjal’s remarks come amid media reports that higher education and skilling platform upGrad is in talks to acquire Unacademy at a valuation of $300 to 320 million. “Yes, we are in M&A conversations, and yes, if we find a win-win situation where consolidation can lead to a stronger entity, we will go ahead with this,” Unacademy co-founder Gaurav Munjal said in a post on social media platform X. Munjal’s remarks come amid media reports that higher education and skilling platform upGrad is in talks to acquire Unacademy at a valuation of $300 to 320 million, nearly 90% lower than the startup’s peak valuation of about $3.5 billion during the 2021 funding boom. In a detailed post, Munjal reflected on Unacademy’s journey, which began as a YouTube channel in 2010 that he started while in college to help friends with computer science concepts. The platform was formally launched in December 2015 and quickly scaled by focusing on free content, strong educator communities, and a tech-first approach to learning. The company saw rapid growth between 2019 and 2021 after launching its subscription product, reaching close to one million paid subscribers and raising over $700 million across multiple funding rounds. However, Munjal said the post-Covid shift of learners back to offline coaching, aggressive cash burn, and the rise of lower priced competitors hurt the business. He acknowledged that Unacademy might now be valued at less than $500 million, compared to around $3.5 billion three years ago, and noted that chasing valuation earlier led to several strategic missteps. Over the past three years, Unacademy has cut costs sharply, reduced its annual burn from about Rs 1,400 crore in 2022 to under Rs 175 crore in 2025, lowered pricing, and refocused on content and subscriptions. For FY25, the SoftBank-backed firm reported Rs 826 crore revenue and reduced its net losses by 31% year-on-year to Rs 436 crore. While consolidation remains an option, Munjal said the company is now focused on building sustainable education products with strong unit economics rather than pursuing headline valuations.

Unacademy's Graphy buys Gaurav Munjal-backed creator community platform Scenes

Money ControlMoney Control · 2y ago
Unacademy's Graphy buys Gaurav Munjal-backed creator community platform Scenes
Medial

Graphy, a subsidiary of edtech platform Unacademy, has acquired Scenes, a creator community platform backed by Gaurav Munjal. Through this acquisition, Graphy aims to strengthen its offerings by providing a platform for creators to connect with their audience through short-form videos. The integration of Scenes' technology and community will further enhance Graphy's mission of democratizing learning and empowering creators in India. Scenes has raised about $50,000 in Seed round. Gaurav Munjal, co-founder and CEO is an investor in Scenes. Besides Munjal, Scenes counts Kunal Shah, Blume Ventures (also and investor in Unacademy), Better Capital, Tanmay Bhat and Flipkart's Kalyan Krishnamurthy as its backers.

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