After three months of failed merger talks due to valuation disputes, upGrad is acquiring 100 percent of leading edtech company Unacademy. Unacademy co-founder Gaurav Munjal said that this is a share swap deal. He will continue as the company's CEO as per the agreement. UpGrad founder Ronnie Screwvala also confirmed the acquisition, saying that the company aims to make a big leap in the edtech sector through artificial intelligence (AI).

Unacademy had recently converted its offline centers into franchises and bought back its ESOP worth Rs 50 crore to make the company financially stronger. Gaurav Munjal recently admitted that the company, which was previously valued at $3.5 billion, is now worth around $500 million. The financial turmoil in the edtech sector after Covid has forced Unacademy, which has big investors like Tiger Global and Meta, to enter into merger talks with other companies.

This is the second major acquisition in a month for Upgrade, which is further strengthening its presence in the edtech sector. Last month, it acquired 90% of Internshala for around Rs 100 crore. Upgrade, which has acquired several companies since 2022, has also shown interest in acquiring the assets of BYJU’S, which is facing insolvency proceedings.