Edtech

Unacademy-upGrad BTS: Why Ronnie Screwvala walked away, Gaurav Munjal stayed back

Nikhil Patwardhan

January 19, 2026 | 12 Min Read

From a near-done term sheet to a sudden collapse, the upGrad–Unacademy deal unravelled over deeper concerns than price: a fragmented business, bleeding offline centres, and integration risks. Now Munjal is rebuilding—franchise-first, online-led, burn-cutting—but execution will decide survival.

Just days before 2025 drew to a close—December 10, to be precise—Gaurav Munjal, co-founder and CEO of Unacademy, once India’s second-largest edtech startup, posted a note on X reflecting on his journey.

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