Gaurav Munjal Steps Down as Unacademy CEO, Becomes Executive Chairman; Akhilendra Kumar Named CEO
Unacademy co-founder Gaurav Munjal has moved to Executive Chairman and handed the CEO role to Akhilendra Kumar, two months after upGrad completed its takeover of the edtech firm.
Unacademy co-founder Gaurav Munjal has handed the chief executive’s job to Akhilendra Kumar and moved to the role of Executive Chairman, Business Today reported on Wednesday, 11 November.
In a post on X, Munjal made clear he was not leaving the company. He said he would stay closely involved in day-to-day operations alongside Kumar, whom he called one of the sharpest operators he knows, and would also support the proposed stock market listing of parent company upGrad.
Two months after the upGrad deal
The change comes just over two months after Ronnie Screwvala-led upGrad completed its acquisition of Unacademy in September 2026. The all-stock deal valued Unacademy at a little over $200 million, about 94% below the roughly $3.4 billion peak valuation it touched in 2021. Unacademy’s shareholders received upGrad shares, and the acquired brands and businesses were retained, including test preparation and the subsidiaries PrepLadder, Graphy and Airlearn.
When the deal closed, Munjal had said he would continue as Unacademy’s CEO under upGrad. Wednesday’s announcement changes that arrangement.
Restructuring
Unacademy has restructured to cut costs and sharpen its focus on online education products. Earlier this year it said it would shift from company-run offline centres to a franchise model. The leadership change comes as upGrad prepares for a possible listing.
Featured image: E-learningE-E-Learning Computer by LeanForward lf, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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