Unacademy
TypePrivate
IndustryEdtech
Founded2015 (2015)
Founders
  • Gaurav Munjal
  • Hemesh Singh
  • Pravin Sharma
Headquarters
Bangalore, Karnataka
,
India
Area served
Worldwide
RevenueIncrease ₹403.4 crore (US$51 million) (2021)[1]
  • Increase ₹398 crore (US$50 million) (2021)
Subsidiaries
  • WiFiStudy
  • Kreatryx
  • CodeChef
  • PrepLadder
  • Mastree
  • Coursavy
  • TapChief
  • Rheo TV
  • Swiflearn
  • Relevel
  • Graphy
Websiteunacademy.com

Unacademy, is an Indian multinational educational technology company that provides online educational platform[2] with its headquarters in Bangalore. It prepares students for various competitive exams (like JEE, NEET, UPSC, Chartered Accountancy, GATE, UPSC NDA, CUET, Boards etc.), as well as provides content on foundational (K-12) and skill building courses (programming, photography, entrepreneurship, etc). It was founded by Gaurav Munjal, Hemesh Singh and Roman Saini in 2015. As of May 2022, Unacademy was valued at US$3.44 billion.[3]

Product and services

In February 2019, Unacademy launched its subscription-based model, Unacademy Plus. The Unacademy Plus Subscription provides students access to live courses by educators across the country in English and 14 Indian languages including Hindi, Punjabi, Telugu,Tamil, Malayalam, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Bhojpuri etc.

In 2020, Unacademy launched Graphy, that helps creators launch their online school in under 60 seconds.[4] In May 2022, Unacademy opened its first offline learning centre in Kota, Rajasthan, followed up with other centers in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru etc.[5][6][7]

History

Unacademy started off as a YouTube channel created by Gaurav Munjal in 2015 when he was an engineering student in Mumbai.[8] Gaurav uploaded a short video tutorial on computer graphics on his YouTube channel to help his peers prepare for the semester exams. In December 2015, Gaurav Munjal roped in two of his friends, Hemesh Singh and Roman Saini, and launched Unacademy app to create free interactive content.[9][10][11]

By 2017, it had over 1 million learners, 5000 plus registered educators and over 40,000 classes launched. In January 2022, Unacademy became one of the founding members of IAMAI's India EdTech Consortium along with other edtech firms like Simplilearn, PrepInsta Prime, UpGrad, Byjus and Vedantu.[12]

Acquisitions

In 2018, Unacademy acquired WiFiStudy for $10 million, a Jaipur-based online exam preparation and learning platform founded by Dinesh Godara in 2013.[13] In March 2020 acquired Kreatryx, an online preparation platform for GATE and ESE. In the same year, Unacademy acquired CodeChef, an educational initiative for the programming community founded by Indian billionaire Bhavin Turakhia in 2009, PrepLadder, a postgraduate medical entrance exam preparation platform, in a cash and stock deal worth $50 million,[14] Mastree, and Coursavy, a Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) test preparation platform for 1000 crores[15]

Unacademy shut down the operations at Mastree after a year of acquisition.[16] In 2021 Unacademy acquired TapChief, Rheo TV and Swiflearn.[3]

Funding and valuation

In January 2017, it received Series A funding of $4.5 million from Blume Ventures and Nexus Venture Partners.

In 2019, Unacademy launched its subscription-based model, Unacademy Plus and reported an ARR of US$30 million.[17][18] In the same year, Unacademy secured nearly $87 million from investors, such as SAIF Partners, Sequoia Capital India, SAIF Partners, Steadview Capital, Nexus Ventures and Blume Ventures.[19][8] Unacademy was the second company in India to receive a direct investment from Facebook.[20]

In the year 2020, Unacademy achieved a unicorn status after closing a $150m investment round with SoftBank Vision Fund at a $1.5 billion valuation. In the same year, it was named as one of the official sponsors of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for year 2020–22.[15] In November 2020, it raised a Series - G funding from Tiger Global Management and Dragoneer Investment Group at a $2 billion valuation.[21]

In January 2021, Tiger Global, Dragoneer Investment Group, Steadview Capital and General Atlantic purchased $50 million-worth of shares from existing investors.[22] In August 2021, Unacademy raised $440 million in a Series H funding round led by Temasek, with participation from General Atlantic, Tiger Global, and SoftBank Vision Fund, Aroa Ventures, the family office of OYO Founder Ritesh Agarwal, and Deepinder Goyal, co-founder and CEO at Zomato.[3] In September 2021 it announced ESOPs (employee stock ownership plan) buyback programme worth $10.5 million for employees and teachers.

Activities

Criticism

In January 2020, Unacademy suffered a data leak by the hacker group ShinyHunters that led to the exposure of personal data of nearly 22 million users. The breach included user records of employees from Reliance Industries, TCS, HDFC, SBI, Infosys, Cognizant, Wipro, Accenture, Facebook and Google, among others.[30] The records appeared for sale on a dark web forum, with the seller asking for $2000. Unacademy officials later confirmed that nearly 11 million accounts were compromised, but nothing valuable was leaked or misused. Unacademy re-assured the fact that no sensitive information has been compromised in their official statement on the issue.[31][32]

In May 2021, it was criticized for posting questions in their Test Series that were religiously inclined and were claimed to be anti-national in nature. Learners complain that often their educators are removed from the system, leaving the syllabus mid-way. Recently, Unacademy was under scrutiny for laying off both educators as well as full-time employees.[33][34][35]

Brajesh Maheshwari who is the co-founder and director of Allen Career Institute threatened its teachers of leaving the institute and moving to the other offline coaching centres after Unacademy opened a coaching centre in Kota and had roped in several teachers from Allen.He also stated that Allen Career Institute will not accept the teacher back into the institute if they leave the institute in the first place to join other institute like Unacademy and Physicswallah[36] Unacademy also suspended contracts of educators to cut cost due to funding winter in July 2022.[37]

PrepLadder

In 2021, Sri Lankan company Medical Joyworks filed a suit in the Bombay Civil Court alleging that PrepLadder, a subsidiary of Unacademy, has plagiarized Medical Joyworks' Prognosis application and other property.[14] The court in its order on 20 September 2021 stated that "Unacademy cannot use its PrepLadder app, website and any other content until all proprietary information, know-how, and technology belonging to Medical Joyworks have been removed to the satisfaction of Medical Joyworks and an independent auditor."[38]

However, on 24 September 2021, the Bombay High Court stayed this judgement when the legal counsel appearing for PrepLadder alleged that the civil court's order was completely erroneous since the civil judge had passed it without jurisdiction.[39]

'Vote for educated' leaders controversy

On 17 August 2023 Unacademy fired Karan Sangwan, a teacher, after a video of him urging students to not vote for those who only focus on changing names, and to elect well-educated politicians, went viral on 14 August.[40] Roman Saini, Unacademy cofounder defended his removal by pointing that classroom is not a place to share personal opinions and views. He further noted that platform was forced to do so.[41][42][43] Reacting, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal questioned if it is a crime to ask people to vote for educated people. Prashant Kanojia remarked that a teacher was “punished for speaking the truth”. Supriya Shrinate wrote: “Sad to see such spineless and weak people run an education platform.”[44][45]

Awards and nominations

  • 2018: TechNode Global- Resilience Awards[46]
  • 2018: IAMAI- Startup of the Year[47]
  • 2020: Named among the GSV Global EdTech 50.[48]
  • 2021: Ranked first in the LinkedIn Top Startups List for India (2021)[49][50][51]

References

  1. ↑ "Unacademy sees over four-fold growth in FY21 revenue but losses also jump six-fold". VCCircle. 22 November 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  2. ↑ "Unacademy launches offline classes to take on Byju's-owned Aakash Institute". Business Insider. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 Subramaniam, Nikhil (13 July 2022). "Unacademy's Downward Spiral: Product Fumbles & Failed Acquisitions Take Heavy Toll". Inc42 Media. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  4. ↑ Majumdar, Debleena; Sharma, Disha. "From Unacademy's Graphy to Teachmint, how tech platforms are driving the teacher-creator economy". The Economic Times. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  5. ↑ Sen, Meghna (23 June 2022). "Unacademy CEO Gaurav Munjal bullish on edtech sector. Here' why". mint. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  6. ↑ Abrar, Peerzada (28 June 2022). "Edtech firms build brick-and-mortar centres across India to woo students". Business Standard India. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  7. ↑ Dilipkumar, Bhavya. "Edtech's post-Covid offline push continues with Unacademy Centres". The Economic Times. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  8. 1 2 Singh, Rajiv (22 June 2022). "Unacademy's Gaurav Munjal Is Ready To Drink The Polyjuice Potion. Can Professor Snape Transfigure Into Professor McGonagall?". Forbes India. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  9. ↑ Kashyap, Hemant (14 June 2022). "Allen Teachers Jump Ship To Unacademy; Will Students Follow?". Inc42 Media. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  10. ↑ Dhamija, Anshul (6 February 2018). "Unacademy: A New (digital Education) Academy". Forbes India. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  11. ↑ "Gaurav Munjal, Roman Saini, Hemesh Singh - India's Young & Brightest Entrepreneurs in 40 Under 40 2019 - Fortune India". Fortune India. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  12. ↑ Pushkarna, Akshit. "What's Wrong With India's Booming Edtech Industry". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  13. ↑ Sarda, Pranit (17 February 2020). "Why YouTube Still Rules The Edtech Roost". Forbes India. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  14. 1 2 "Bombay HC stays order that barred Unacademy from using PrepLadder app". The Economic Times. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  15. 1 2 "Edtech Unicorn Unacademy Acquires UPSC Test Prep Platform Coursavy". Inc42 Media. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  16. ↑ "Unacademy shuts Mastree after a year of acquisition". The Economic Times. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  17. ↑ Malik, Yuvraj (16 April 2019). "Unacademy: Helping people turn educators to millions of students". Business Standard India. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  18. ↑ "Unacademy eyes USD 300 mn recurring revenues in coming years". The Economic Times. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  19. ↑ "Unacademy secures $11.5M funding led by Sequoia India & SAIF Partners". The Economic Times. 13 September 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  20. ↑ Vankipuram, Meera (24 February 2020). "Unacademy, Byju's success lifts fortunes of edtech start-ups". LiveMint. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  21. ↑ "Unacademy valued at $2 billion in new financing by Tiger Global, Dragoneer". The Economic Times. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  22. ↑ Abrar, Peerzada (13 January 2021). "Tiger Global, others buy $50 mn shares from existing investors of Unacademy". Business Standard India. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  23. ↑ Vankipuram, Meera (20 March 2020). "Covid-19 impact: Online learning companies see spike in number of students". mint. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  24. ↑ "Virat Kohli, Anushka Sharma, Shashi Tharoor and Kiran Bedi to deliver live lectures on Unacademy". Business Insider. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  25. ↑ "'Legends on Unacademy' to be on Times Now, ET Now - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  26. ↑ Thacker, Hency (28 May 2021). "Indian Entities Extending Support to COVID Orphans". The CSR Journal. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  27. ↑ "NSDC partners with Relevel by Unacademy to provide employment opportunities". Financialexpress. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  28. ↑ "Unacademy signs MoU with Himachal Pradesh Government, empowering aspirants for competitive exams". Financialexpress. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  29. ↑ "This edtech company is aiming to teach 5 lakh girls, check details here". India Today. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  30. ↑ Chandrashekhar, Anandi. "Unacademy information on sale on the darkweb". The Economic Times. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  31. ↑ Abrams, Lawrence (6 May 2020). "Hacker sells 22 million Unacademy user records after data breach". Bleeping Computer. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  32. ↑ "11 million Unacademy user accounts were hacked in January — and they are now up for sale on Dark Web". Business Insider. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  33. ↑ "Unacademy educator calls tribals stupid in lecture, firm regrets". The Indian Express. 26 September 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  34. ↑ "#ShameOnUnacademy trends on Twitter after the education app sponsors 'Anti-Hindu skit' that has left netizens fuming". Free Press Journal. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  35. ↑ "Watch: Unacademy educator's racist comments against tribals spark outrage; here's what happened". Free Press Journal. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  36. ↑ "'Sharafat ki Duniya Khatam', Says Allen Chief, Threatens Teachers Leaving Institute". News18. 14 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  37. ↑ Jose, Teena (3 August 2022). "Edtech Unicorn Unacademy Suspends Contracts Of Educators To Cut Cost". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  38. ↑ Mundhra, Laxitha (22 September 2021). "Edtech Startup Unacademy 'reviewing' Court Order Restraining It To Use PrepLadder In Plagiarism Row". Inc42 Media. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  39. ↑ "Bombay HC stays order that barred Unacademy from using PrepLadder app". The Economic Times. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  40. ↑ Noor, Aliza (18 August 2023). "Unacademy Teacher Karan Sangwan Fired After He Urged Students to Vote for 'Educated Leaders'". TheQuint. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  41. ↑ "Unacademy sacks teacher who urged students to vote for 'educated candidates': 'Classroom not a place to share personal views'". The Indian Express. 18 August 2023. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  42. ↑ "Unacademy fires teacher who urged students to vote for 'educated candidates'". mint. 18 August 2023. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  43. ↑ "Unacademy gets pulled up by politicians after sacking tutor over 'vote for educated' remark, issues clarification". Financialexpress. 18 August 2023. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  44. ↑ "Unacademy gets pulled up by politicians after sacking tutor over 'vote for educated' remark, issues clarification". Financialexpress. 18 August 2023. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  45. ↑ "Unacademy sacks teacher who urged students to vote for 'educated candidates': 'Classroom not a place to share personal views'". The Indian Express. 18 August 2023. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  46. ↑ TAN, Shi Hui (18 November 2020). "Announcing the winners for the ORIGIN Innovation Awards 2020". TechNode Global. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  47. ↑ "Former Cricketer Virender Sehwag Awarded Social Media Person of the Year at 8th India Digital Awards". Media Infoline. 20 January 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  48. ↑ "Global EdTech 50". gsv.ventures. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  49. ↑ "Unicorns Unacademy, Udaan, and CRED top start-ups where India wants to work now: LinkedIn report". Business Line. 22 September 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  50. ↑ "Unacademy, Udaan, CRED Dominate Latest LinkedIn Top Startups India List". Forbes India. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  51. ↑ "LinkedIn top startups India list 2021: Unicorns Unacademy, Udaan, CRED are the companies in the list". Moneycontrol. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
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