**upGrad Abandons Unacademy Acquisition Amid Valuation Disputes**
**Meta Description:** upGrad has halted its acquisition of Unacademy due to disagreements over valuation, marking a significant shift in India’s edtech landscape.
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**upGrad Abandons Unacademy Acquisition Amid Valuation Disputes**
In a notable development within India’s edtech sector, upGrad has officially abandoned its plans to acquire Unacademy after the two companies could not reach an agreement on valuation. This decision marks the end of discussions that were seen as a major consolidation effort in the industry.
Ronnie Screwvala, co-founder of upGrad, confirmed the news, stating, “Yes, we are not proceeding due to valuation differences. We were unable to arrive at a mutually agreeable valuation.” The talks, which had garnered significant attention, have now formally collapsed.
Last November, upGrad proposed a share-swap deal that would have valued Unacademy between $300 million and $400 million. This figure represents a dramatic decline from Unacademy’s peak valuation of $3.4 billion during the funding surge of 2021. Unacademy, which has received backing from major investors such as SoftBank, Temasek, Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital, and Peak XV Partners, has raised approximately $880 million since its inception.
For upGrad, acquiring Unacademy would have provided a strategic entry into the test preparation market and access to Unacademy’s substantial cash reserves, estimated between ₹1,000 crore and ₹1,200 crore, at a time when capital is increasingly scarce.
This is not the first instance of a potential deal falling through for Unacademy. Over the past two years, discussions regarding the company’s sale have repeatedly stalled, including negotiations with other edtech firms, primarily due to mismatched valuation expectations.
Unacademy has been exploring strategic options for over two years, with founders Gaurav Munjal and Roman Saini considering ways to independently operate Airlearn, their rapidly growing AI language learning division. This exploration comes as the company shifts its focus toward offline test preparation in response to the post-pandemic slowdown in the edtech sector.
As upGrad prepares for an initial public offering (IPO) anticipated in 2027, it is also looking for opportunities for inorganic growth. Reports indicate that upGrad could raise between $350 million and $400 million in the upcoming IPO. Unlike many of its competitors, upGrad has achieved operational profitability, reporting gross revenue of ₹1,650 crore for FY25.
The discussions regarding the Unacademy acquisition coincided with upGrad’s interest in acquiring select assets from Byju’s, reflecting a broader trend of consolidation in a sector still recovering from the impacts of the pandemic.
**FAQ**
**Why did upGrad abandon the acquisition of Unacademy?**
upGrad abandoned the acquisition due to disagreements over valuation, as both parties could not reach a mutually acceptable figure.