Edtech firm Unacademy has announced a Rs 50 crore employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) buyback programme, a move aimed at providing liquidity to current and former employees just two months after the company drew sharp criticism, and ultimately reversed its decision to slash its ESOP exercise window from 10 years to 30 days.
Co-founder and CEO Gaurav Munjal announced the buyback on X on Thursday, stating that eight employees stand to earn over Rs 1 crore each from the programme. 17 employees are expected to receive upwards of Rs 50 lakh, while 38 are likely to make more than Rs 10 lakh. The company will reach out to eligible participants over the coming weeks.
“Grateful to the board for carving out a cash pool for the employees even though the valuation is significantly less than our last fundraise,” Munjal said. Co-founder Roman Saini, in a separate post, framed the buyback as a gesture of goodwill toward employees who had stayed with the company through a difficult period.
The move comes against the backdrop of a turbulent times for the Bengaluru-headquartered company. In December, Unacademy faced severe backlash from former employees after it amended its 2018 ESOP plan, compressing the exercise window to just 30 days. Former staffers argued the change forced them to either pay significant upfront taxes or forfeit their vested stock altogether. Following sustained pressure, Munjal apologised, and by early January, the company officially reversed the policy, putting the 30-day window on hold and reinstating the original timeframe.
The ESOP controversy coincided with failed acquisition talks with Ronnie Screwvala-led upGrad. The proposed all-stock transaction valued Unacademy at roughly $300 million, a steep drop from its $3.4 billion peak in 2021. Had the deal materialised, Munjal and Saini were planning to step down from their operational roles. FE was first to report in January that, following the failed talks, Munjal was to remain at the helm as Group CEO, spearheading a broader strategic reset focused on the company’s online businesses. He had claimed the company held approximately Rs 1,070 crore in cash reserves at the time.
As part of the reset, Unacademy is making a complete exit from its asset-heavy offline operations. By April, the company will shut down all 26 of its company-operated coaching centres and convert them into franchise partnerships, joining its 35 existing franchise centres. This shift is designed to dramatically reduce fixed costs, as the company-owned offline business previously accounted for roughly 80% of Unacademy’s cash burn.
With the structural pivot underway, Unacademy is doubling down on its profitable and high-growth online segments. A key growth driver is AirLearn, the company’s language learning app, which saw its annual recurring revenue (ARR) surge from $200,000 to nearly $3 million by the end of 2025. Meanwhile, subsidiaries PrepLadder and Graphy had already achieved full-year cash flow positivity, he had told FE in January.
Cost-correction measures have reflected in the company’s bottom line. Unacademy narrowed its net losses to Rs 435 crore in FY25, down from Rs 631 crore in FY24, although revenue dipped 16% to Rs 826 crore from Rs 988 crore in the previous fiscal. Crucially, the company’s overall cash burn plummeted to approximately Rs 150 crore in calendar year 2025, a massive drop from around Rs 1,400 crore in 2022.