Unacademy faces major leadership shake-up as co-founder Gaurav Munjal steps down
Co-founders Gaurav Munjal and Roman Saini step away from active roles; Sumit Jain to lead the ed-tech giant as it shifts focus towards physical learning centres and language app AirLearn.
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In a significant restructuring of its leadership team, Unacademy has announced the departure of its co-founder and CEO Gaurav Munjal, according to media reports.
Fellow co-founder Roman Saini will also step away from active responsibilities, leaving the company in the hands of the third co-founder, Sumit Jain, who is set to steer Unacademy through one of its most crucial transitions yet. This change at the helm comes at a challenging juncture for the Bengaluru-based unicorn, which has sharply pivoted away from its original digital-first model.
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Unacademy is now shifting its strategy toward physical learning centres and has launched AirLearn, a language learning app aimed at capturing new growth opportunities.
However, these moves come against the backdrop of considerable internal upheaval. Over the past two years, Unacademy has faced significant operational and financial strain. Since 2022, more than 1,300 employees have been laid off in successive rounds of cuts across technology, leadership, and content divisions. High-profile executives including COO Vivek Sinha and CFO Subramaniam Ramachandran exited the company in 2023, signalling deeper turmoil within senior leadership.
Financial stability has been another pressing concern. Despite backing from heavyweight investors such as Facebook, Sequoia Capital (now Peak XV Partners), General Atlantic, and others, Unacademy has struggled to raise fresh capital since its last funding round in August 2021.
Although previously valued at $3.4 billion, analysts believe maintaining this valuation has become increasingly challenging, as the company aggressively trims costs and recalibrates strategy.
In December 2023, Munjal had publicly asserted that Unacademy had successfully reduced its cash burn by 60% and secured enough runway to last over four years. Earlier this year, he also tweeted about the company being on track for its "best year yet."
The company has quietly wound down most of the 12 acquisitions it made during the 2020 edtech funding boom, retreating to focus on just two or three core ventures, none involving its former flagship online test prep vertical.
Adding to Unacademy's challenges, the company has engaged in unsuccessful bailout talks over the last two years with prominent education entities including Allen, PhysicsWallah, K12 Techno, Bodhitree Systems, and Veranda Learning, according to CNBC-TV18 sources.
