Samay Raina Reacts To Unacademy's $200 Million Sale With A Brutal Joke, Gaurav Munjal Plays Along

Unacademy, once one of India's most valuable edtech startups, has been acquired by rival upGrad in an all-stock deal valued at just over $200 million. The acquisition marks a dramatic fall from the company's peak valuation of $3.44 billion in 2021 – a decline of about 94%. The steep drop prompted comedian Samay Raina to take a light-hearted dig at Unacademy co-founder and CEO Gaurav Munjal.

On Tuesday, Raina shared a picture with Munjal on Instagram and joked about the company being sold for $200 million when it could have been sold earlier for $3.4 billion. Munjal took the joke in good humour, replying on X that you do not need enemies when you have friends like Raina.

See the post here:

Who needs enemies when you have such friends :) https://t.co/BlGzqQW0oX

— Gaurav Munjal (@gauravmunjal) September 1, 2026

Munjal has himself openly acknowledged the sharp fall in valuation. In a post marking six years since Unacademy became a unicorn, he reflected on the company's journey from a billion-dollar startup to its acquisition by upGrad. "We raised at a peak but sold at a fraction of that. I'm not going to dress these facts up. But I am proud of what this team did between those two numbers," he wrote on X. 

Unacademy became a unicorn in 2020 and reached a peak valuation of $3.44 billion after raising $440 million in 2021 from investors including Temasek, General Atlantic and SoftBank Vision Fund.

The eventual acquisition at just over $200 million represents roughly a 94% markdown from that peak.

Despite the steep valuation correction, Munjal pointed to several achievements he believes the company can be proud of. He said Unacademy still had around Rs 900 crore in the bank, a topline of about Rs 400 crore, and that most of its businesses were profitable or close to profitability.

Six years ago today, Unacademy became a unicorn. Today, Unacademy has closed its acquisition by UpGrad for just over $200M. We raised at a peak, but sold at a fraction of that. I'm not going to dress these facts up. But I am proud of what this team did between those two numbers.…

— Gaurav Munjal (@gauravmunjal) September 1, 2026

UpGrad buys Unacademy

He said the company could have continued independently but chose to join upGrad after discussions with founder Ronnie Screwvala. Munjal described the combination as a more ambitious and exciting path for the business and the wider education ecosystem.

Unacademy was founded with the aim of making education more accessible and helped popularise online learning in India. Munjal also highlighted the impact of its free platform, saying educators associated with it have collectively generated more than 10 billion views on YouTube.

He also pointed to Airlearn, Unacademy's language-learning platform, which became one of the world's three most-downloaded language-learning apps within two years of its launch. Munjal said the company had achieved its goal of building a global consumer product from India, while crediting its founders, employees, educators and investors for the journey.

The company had also conducted four employee stock-option buybacks, creating financial value for its employees.

The acquisition was approved by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in July. Munjal will continue as CEO of Unacademy Group under upGrad.