Unacademy's value takes a big hit as edtech market shifts
Unacademy's valuation has crashed from $3.5 billion in 2021 to under $500 million—a massive 85% drop.
Co-founder Gaurav Munjal points to a rapid shift in market dynamics after the pandemic, with students heading back to offline classes and tougher competition as reasons for the slide.
Cost cuts, smaller losses, and a focus shift
To cope, Unacademy cut its annual spending from over ₹1,000 crore in 2021 to less than ₹200 crore now, and has ₹1,200 crore in reserves.
Revenue fell by 7% last year, but layoffs and less marketing helped shrink losses by 62%.
They also spun off their language app AirLearn, which is now a separate entity.
UpGrad eyes a bargain buy
UpGrad is looking to buy Unacademy's test-prep business for $300-400 million—way below its old valuation.
A previous deal with Allen Career Institute at $800 million didn't work out over price disagreements.
If this goes through (AirLearn not included), it could give UpGrad an edge before its IPO.