🚀 Medial Secures Investment on Shark Tank India - Fueling the Future of Professional Social Networking. 🔥
Login

News on Medial

Related News

Unacademy to pivot from company operated centres to a franchise model

EntrackrEntrackr · 6d 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.

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.

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

EntrackrEntrackr · 9m 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.

Unacademy’s Gaurav Munjal clarifies on ESOP exercise and valuation

EntrackrEntrackr · 1m ago
Unacademy’s Gaurav Munjal clarifies on ESOP exercise and valuation
Medial

Unacademy’s Gaurav Munjal clarifies on ESOP exercise and valuation Test preparation platform Unacademy has amended its employee stock option plan (ESOP) for former employees where they can now exercise their options within 30 days of exit, compared to 10 years earlier. According to an official communication sent to exited employees, the company’s board has approved a one-time 30-day window from the effective date of the revised plan. Former employees can exercise all vested options earned during their tenure. The email also noted that, under applicable Indian tax laws, the exercise of vested options would trigger an immediate tax liability for employees. Unacademy said the valuation used for exercising ESOPs is based on its latest assessment by a merchant banker, which values the company at around Rs 2,650 crore (approximately $230 million). The company added that this valuation is lower than the total capital invested by its investors and cautioned that there is no assurance any future liquidation event would generate sufficient proceeds for payouts to equity shareholders, including employees who choose to exercise their options. It further stated that preference shareholders have superior rights over equity shareholders. Earlier, Unacademy co-founder Gaurav Munjal had publicly said that the company’s valuation may have fallen sharply to below $500 million from its peak of around $3.5 billion in 2021. Unacademy raised $440 million in 2021 in a funding round led by Temasek Holdings, which valued the company at about $3.4 billion. In a statement shared by Munjal, he said the company is currently in merger and acquisition discussions at a similar valuation of around Rs 2,650 crore through an all-stock deal with no cash component. He said that since the valuation is well below the over $800 million raised by Unacademy, certain investors would be entitled to apply liquidation preference, which could effectively render ESOPs worthless. Munjal added that when liquidation preference is enforced, employee stock options effectively become zero, and that the management did not want that outcome. “The board was therefore requested to explore a mechanism that would allow exited employees to convert their options into common shares so they could participate in any stock-based merger, even at a lower valuation, providing parity with common shareholders,” said Munjal. He also said his own ESOPs are subject to the same outcome and acknowledged responsibility for the situation.

Download the medial app to read full posts, comements and news.