Unacademy Will Not Fund AirLearn: A Strategic Initiative by Gaurav Munjal

Unacademy co-founder Gaurav Munjal had initially planned to spin off the company’s language-learning platform, AirLearn, and transfer 10% of Unacademy’s cash reserves to the new venture, leaving investors with 80% ownership and Munjal and Roman Saini with 20% each.

However, in a significant change, Unacademy’s top backers, from Nexus to SoftBank, General Atlantic, Peak XV, and Temasek, rejected the plan. Instead, they approved a new framework under which:

Investors would retain a 50% ownership stake in AirLearn, and no funds would be transferred from Unacademy. Munjal and Saini were directed to raise external capital for AirLearn.

The decision reflects investors’ hesitation to allocate internal cash to new ventures, while Munjal intends to focus his attention as an angel investor in startups such as Pratilipi and Ultrahuman.

Why it Matters: Unacademy Financial Turnaround

AirLearn is reaching scale: Launched in April 2024, the language-learning app now supports multiple languages ​​and generates 40% of its revenue from the US, 15% from the UK and Germany, and the rest globally. It has grown to 70,000 daily active users and an annual revenue of $2 million.

Unacademy’s financial turnaround: The parent company has significantly narrowed its FY24 losses (down 62% to ₹631 crore) and maintained adequate reserves (₹1,200 crore). Leadership restructuring underway: Munjal and Saini are stepping back from Unacademy’s day-to-day operations. Sumit Jain is stepping down as CEO, specifically leading the offline and core education space.

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