Unacademy co-founders Gaurav Munjal and Roman Saini to exit: Report

Unacademy co-founders Gaurav Munjal and Roman Saini are reportedly set to exit the edtech company to focus on their new venture, AirLearn, a language learning app. This marks a rare instance of original co-founders of an Indian edtech unicorn stepping away from the company. The third co-founder, Hemesh Singh, had already exited in June last year.

According to The Economic Times, which first reported the development, Sumit Jain, co-founder of Unacademy’s subsidiary Graphy, is expected to take over the leadership role. Jain joined Unacademy in 2020 following the acquisition of his startup Opentalk.

Both Munjal and Saini intend to focus on expanding AirLearn, which has already reached an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of $400,000 in the U.S. just months after its launch.

Unacademy's board features members from SoftBank, General Atlantic, Bhavin Turakhia (Zeta), Sujeet Kumar (Udaan), along with Munjal and Saini. As per startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, the three original co-founders collectively held a 15% stake in Unacademy.

The transition of leadership and focus on AirLearn indicate a new chapter for both Unacademy and its founders.

Entrackr has reached out to Unacademy, Munjal and Saini for comments.

In an internal email to employees, Graphy CEO Sumit Jain has advised staff to disregard the rumours. Entrackr has obtained a copy of the email.

Munjal recently claimed that Unacademy has reduced its cash burn in the core business from over Rs 1,000 crore annually three years ago to under Rs 200 crore this calendar year. He added that Unacademy has Rs 1,200 crore in the bank and is financially stable. Some of its businesses, like Graphy and PrepLadder, are making money every month.

While the company reported a flat revenue growth in FY24, it managed to cut its losses by 62% to Rs 631 crore in the same period. Its FY25 results have yet to come.