Unacademy to switch to franchise model after upGrad deal falls through
Unacademy is shaking things up—by April 2025, it'll stop running its own offline centers and let local partners handle them instead.
This big change comes after merger talks with rival upGrad fizzled out over valuation differences and concerns about offline expansion risks.
In the new setup, Unacademy will focus on academics, technology, and branding, while local operators run the show.
Why did the upGrad merger flop?
The deal was priced way below Unacademy's old peak value—just $290-400 million compared to $3.4 billion in 2021—which made it a tough sell.
There were concerns, particularly from upGrad, about the risks of expanding more offline.
How's Unacademy doing financially?
Unacademy has seriously cut its test-prep losses (from ₹450 crore in 2024 down to ₹200 crore), with key exam segments now turning a profit.
PrepLadder and Graphy are cash-flow positive for the year, and Airlearn's annual revenue jumped from $200K at the start of 2025 to nearly $3 million by year-end.
Why does this matter?
With ₹1,100 crore in cash reserves and a new asset-light approach, Unacademy is adapting fast as edtech companies everywhere rethink how they grow—and survive—in tougher times for startups.