The Unacademy Business Model of Exam Prep Subscriptions
How Unacademy sells exam prep classes, and who owns it now.
Key Takeaways
- FY25 total revenue was about ₹826 crore, down from about ₹988 crore in FY24.
- Unacademy's net loss narrowed to about ₹436 crore in FY25 from ₹631 crore in FY24.
- upGrad completed its all-stock purchase of Unacademy on 1 September 2026.
- The upGrad deal valued Unacademy at about ₹1,955 crore, or $206 million.
Table of Contents 12 sections
- Unacademy at a glance
- What Unacademy does
- How does Unacademy make money
- Is Unacademy profitable
- Unacademy's Business Model Canvas
- Unacademy valuation and funding
- Unacademy acquired by upGrad
- Unacademy's journey so far
- Who Unacademy competes with
- Challenges Unacademy faces
- Conclusion on the Unacademy business model
- FAQs
The Unacademy business model sells subscriptions to live and recorded online classes for competitive exams such as UPSC, JEE, NEET and CAT. Learners start with free classes, pick an exam goal and pay for a plan that unlocks courses, tests and doubt sessions. The group also runs PrepLadder for medical exams, Graphy for course creators and the language app Airlearn.
In FY25 Unacademy's total revenue was about Rs 826 crore and its net loss was about Rs 436 crore. On 1 September 2026 upGrad completed an all-stock purchase of Unacademy that valued it at about Rs 1,955 crore, or $206 million.
Unacademy at a glance
| Detail | Unacademy |
|---|---|
| What it does | Online classes and test prep for competitive exams, sold by subscription |
| Company | Sorting Hat Technologies Private Limited, Bengaluru |
| Started | As a YouTube channel in 2010; became an ed tech platform in 2015 |
| Co-founders | Gaurav Munjal, Roman Saini, Hemesh Singh and Sumit Jain |
| FY25 total revenue | About Rs 826 crore (FY24: about Rs 988 crore) |
| FY25 net loss | About Rs 436 crore (FY24: Rs 631 crore) |
| Owner | upGrad, after an all-stock deal completed on 1 September 2026 |
| Valuation | About Rs 1,955 crore ($206 million) in the upGrad deal; peak of $3.44 billion in August 2021 |
| CEO | Akhilendra Kumar, named in November 2026; Gaurav Munjal is executive chairman |
What Unacademy does
Unacademy is a learning app for people preparing for competitive exams. A learner chooses a goal, such as UPSC civil services, IIT JEE, NEET UG, bank exams or CAT, and gets live classes from educators, structured courses with PDFs, test series and live doubt-clearing sessions for that goal.
Plans are tiered. On the UPSC goal page, the Plus plan covers live classes, all batches and test series, while Iconic and Iconic Pro add things like printed books and one-to-one mentorship. Free classes, on the app and on YouTube, bring learners in before they pay.
How does Unacademy make money
Unacademy revenue model
- Subscriptions. Learners pay for a plan on an exam goal.
- PrepLadder. Courses, question banks and tests for NEET PG and other medical exams. Unacademy bought PrepLadder in July 2020 for $50 million.
- Graphy. Software that lets creators build and sell their own courses, memberships and digital products.
- Airlearn. A language learning app that is part of the group.
- Offline centres. In January 2026 Unacademy said its company run centres would move to a franchise model, where local partners run the centres and Unacademy provides academics, technology and reach. The move was due to finish by April 2026.
Is Unacademy profitable
No. Unacademy has reported a net loss in each of the last three years. Total revenue was Rs 1,044 crore in FY23, about Rs 988 crore in FY24 and about Rs 826 crore in FY25. The net loss was Rs 1,678 crore in FY23, Rs 631 crore in FY24 and about Rs 436 crore in FY25.
The EBITDA loss, which leaves out interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, was Rs 489 crore in FY24 and Rs 305 crore in FY25.
Unacademy's Business Model Canvas
Unacademy valuation and funding
Unacademy raised $110 million in February 2020 in a round led by Facebook and General Atlantic, and $150 million in September 2020 in a round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 at a valuation of $1.45 billion. In November 2020 Tiger Global and Dragoneer invested at a $2 billion valuation. In August 2021 it raised $440 million in a Series H led by Temasek at a valuation of $3.44 billion.
The upGrad deal valued Unacademy at about Rs 1,955 crore, or $206 million, about 94% below the 2021 peak.
Unacademy acquired by upGrad
upGrad signed a term sheet to buy Unacademy in March 2026 in a 100% share swap. The Competition Commission of India approved the deal on 7 July 2026, and it was completed on 1 September 2026. Unacademy shareholders received upGrad shares, and angel investors were paid out at closing. The deal covers the whole group, including PrepLadder, Graphy and Airlearn, and the Unacademy brand is kept.
At closing, Gaurav Munjal said Unacademy had annual revenue of about Rs 400 crore and about Rs 900 crore in cash. In November 2026 he announced that chief business officer Akhilendra Kumar would take over as CEO, while he moves to the role of executive chairman.
Unacademy's journey so far
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| 2015 | A YouTube channel started in 2010 becomes an ed tech platform |
| July 2020 | Buys PrepLadder for $50 million |
| August 2021 | Raises $440 million at a $3.44 billion valuation |
| January 2026 | Says company run offline centres will move to franchise partners |
| September 2026 | upGrad completes its all-stock purchase of Unacademy |
| November 2026 | Akhilendra Kumar named CEO; Gaurav Munjal becomes executive chairman |
Who Unacademy competes with
Unacademy competes with other test prep companies that teach online and in classrooms. These include PhysicsWallah, the coaching institute Allen and Vedantu.
Challenges Unacademy faces
- Total revenue fell from Rs 1,044 crore in FY23 to about Rs 826 crore in FY25.
- It reported a net loss of about Rs 436 crore in FY25.
- In January 2026 Unacademy said its company run offline centres would move to franchise partners by April 2026.
- The CEO changed in November 2026, two months after the upGrad deal closed.
Conclusion on the Unacademy business model
The Unacademy business model sells subscriptions to online classes for competitive exams through its app, with free classes on the app and YouTube bringing learners in. The group also earns from PrepLadder's medical courses, Graphy's creator software and the Airlearn language app. In January 2026 it said its company run offline centres would move to franchise partners.
In FY25 total revenue was about Rs 826 crore and the net loss was about Rs 436 crore. upGrad has owned Unacademy since 1 September 2026, in a deal that valued it at about Rs 1,955 crore.
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