Unacademy, one of India’s premier edtech platforms, is undergoing a significant leadership transition. According to sources familiar with the matter, co-founders Gaurav Munjal and Roman Saini are expected to step back from day-to-day management within the next two to three months. This move is part of a strategic decision to focus on spinning off Airlearn, the company’s language learning platform, into an independent entity. Airlearn aims to compete with global players like Duolingo and has been growing steadily, with around 70,000 daily active users and nearly 300,000 monthly users as of April 2025. Of these, approximately 17,500 are paying subscribers, contributing to an annual recurring revenue of about $2 million. The majority of Airlearn’s user base is from the US, UK, and Germany, and the app currently offers 13 language courses, with English-to-Spanish, English-to-French, and English-to-Korean being the most popular.

The third co-founder, Hemesh Singh, had already stepped down in June 2024, leaving Munjal and Saini to lead the next phase of Unacademy’s evolution. The company was originally launched almost a decade ago as a YouTube channel and has grown into a major player in India’s edtech sector.

Sumit Jain, founder of Graphy, a platform that enables educators to create and sell online courses, is set to take charge of Unacademy’s offline operations. Jain, who joined Unacademy in 2020 following the acquisition of his startup Opentalk, was promoted to partner in 2023, a role internally considered akin to a late-stage co-founder. Before joining Unacademy, Jain co-founded the real estate portal CommonFloor in 2007, which was later acquired by Quikr in 2016. Interestingly, CommonFloor had previously acquired Flat.to, an accommodation platform founded by Unacademy’s Gaurav Munjal, which helps students and young professionals find housing.

Alongside this leadership change, Unacademy is in the final stages of appointing new leadership to oversee its core online education business, signaling a renewed focus on strengthening its primary offerings. Despite repeated attempts, an official response from Unacademy on these developments was not received by press time.

Financially, Unacademy recorded total revenues of ₹988.4 crore in FY24, marking a 5.33% decline compared to ₹1,044 crore in FY23. However, the company successfully cut its losses by 62%, reducing them from ₹1,678 crore in FY23 to ₹631 crore in FY24. Munjal has stated that Unacademy has significantly reduced its cash burn in its core business—from over ₹1,000 crore annually three years ago to under ₹200 crore in the current calendar year. He also emphasized that the company has ₹1,200 crore in bank reserves and is financially stable. Additionally, some of its business verticals like Graphy and PrepLadder are profitable on a monthly basis.

Unacademy’s board comprises representatives from major global investors such as SoftBank and General Atlantic, as well as prominent entrepreneurs like Bhavin Turakhia of Zeta and Sujeet Kumar of Udaan. The company has raised approximately $880 million in total funding, including a $440 million round led by Temasek in 2021, which valued the company at $3.44 billion. The three original co-founders collectively retain around a 15% stake in the company.

Overall, the leadership reshuffle and focus on Airlearn represent a strategic pivot aimed at streamlining operations and capitalizing on growth opportunities in specialized education markets. The move underscores Unacademy’s commitment to innovation, financial prudence, and expanding its footprint in the global edtech landscape.