Copyright startuppedia
"Ronnie Screwvala of upGrad, India's leading edtech firm, has placed a bid to buy SoftBank-backed Unacademy at a valuation of $300 million to $400 million, as reported by MoneyControl.Advertisment The potential valuation shows a sharp drop from Unacademy"s last publicly known valuation of $3.44 billion back in 2021. More about the Unacademy acquisition upGrad, which is preparing to go public in the coming quarters, wants to buy Unacademy to support its cash reserves and also add about $100 million to its revenue, as reported by YourStory. Reportedly, the transaction will be a complete share-swap, and upGrad will not pay cash for the deal. If approved, the merger would rank among the largest in the Indian edtech industry. Though the sector experienced a significant boom during the pandemic, when online learning was in high demand, since 2022, the online edtech industry has faced a series of challenges, after students returned to offline classrooms. Incidentally, PhysicsWallah, the country"s most valued edtech startup, is going public next week. The Alakh Pandey-led edtech startup directly competes with Unacademy in the test-prep space, and is also expanding into higher education.. At a valuation of $2.25 billion, upGrad last raised funds from Singapore's sovereign wealth fund Temasek in 2024. Last week, the edtech startup reported about turning EBITDA positive in FY25, with an operating revenue of Rs 1,943 crore. upGrad"s revenue has grown steadily over the past three years. Meanwhile, Unacademy has seen its revenue fall in the last three years: from Rs 1,044 crore in FY23 to Rs 820 crore in FY25, as reported by Entrackr. The company managed to cut its losses to Rs 305 crore, and has yet to publicly file its FY25 results. UpGrad was founded by Ronnie Screwvala, Mayank Kumar, and Phalgun Komandur. The potential acquisition of Unacademy would be one of the largest consolidation deals in India"s edtech sector this year. Already, upGrad has a strong presence in higher education and skilling. Unacademy"s test-prep network, including offline centres in Kota, Delhi, and other cities, could help upGrad strengthen its K-12 and competitive exams portfolio. Also read: Zomato Hyperpure leases 5.5 lakh sq ft of warehousing space in Thane for ₹1.7 Cr monthly rent (startuppedia.in) "
