Gaurav Munjal steps down as Unacademy CEO, Akhilendra Kumar takes charge

Unacademy co-founder Gaurav Munjal on Wednesday announced that he is stepping down as CEO to become Executive Chairman of the edtech company. He said Akhilendra Kumar was taking over as the new chief executive.

Munjal said he would remain closely involved in daily operations and support the proposed IPO of parent company upGrad.

"Some personal news: I'm moving from CEO to Executive Chairman of Unacademy, and Akhilendra Kumar will take over as CEO," Munjal said in a post on X. "To be clear, I'm not going anywhere. I'll stay fully involved in operations every day, work alongside Akhilendra and help with the upGrad IPO."

Praising his successor, Munjal said, "Akhilendra is one of the sharpest operators I know, and I'm proud to have him lead us into this next chapter. The best is still ahead."

The leadership change comes just over two months after Ronnie Screwvala-led upGrad completed its acquisition of Unacademy in September 2026.

The all-stock transaction valued Unacademy at just over $200 million, a sharp decline of about 94% from its peak valuation of approximately $3.4 billion in 2021.

Under the deal, Unacademy's shareholders received shares in upGrad, while the acquired company's brands and businesses were retained. The transaction included Unacademy's test-preparation operations and subsidiaries such as PrepLadder, Graphy and language-learning platform Airlearn.

At the time of the acquisition, Munjal had said he would continue as Unacademy's CEO and oversee its businesses under upGrad. His latest announcement marks a change in that leadership arrangement.

The acquisition followed a period of restructuring at Unacademy as the company reduced costs and shifted its focus towards online education products.

Earlier this year, Unacademy announced plans to move away from company-operated offline learning centres towards a franchise-led model.

Munjal's move to Executive Chairman also comes as upGrad prepares for a potential stock market listing.