Unacademy founders Gaurav Munjal and Roman Saini will remain at the helm of the company, and plans to hive off its Airlearn business have been dropped. The decision marks a shift from a previously signalled restructuring and keeps leadership continuity intact as the company navigates a challenging edtech landscape.
What changed and why it matters
The planned separation of Airlearn — a unit that was being positioned separately from the core business — will no longer proceed. While the company has not disclosed a detailed public rationale, such reversals typically reflect changing business priorities, reassessments of growth potential, or consideration of market and investor sentiment.
Keeping Airlearn within the parent company suggests a desire to preserve strategic flexibility and to avoid the costs and disruptions that often accompany corporate carve-outs. It also signals that the founders prefer to continue guiding the company’s overall direction personally rather than handing parts of it off to an independent management team.
Why the founders staying is significant
- Leadership continuity: Founders remaining in place brings stability during a period of adjustment for the business. That stability often matters to employees, partners, and large investors.
- Strategic coherence: Munjal and Saini are widely seen as driving the company’s long-term product and market strategy. Their continued involvement reduces the risk of abrupt strategic shifts that can follow leadership exits.
- Investor confidence: For many backers, founder retention helps protect valuation and long-term vision. It can also smooth ongoing fundraising or refinancing conversations.
Operational and product implications
By keeping Airlearn in-house, the company retains tighter control over product integration, customer data, and cross-sell opportunities. This can help streamline product roadmaps and better leverage shared technology and talent across offerings.
On the other hand, the decision foregoes some potential benefits of a hive-off, such as a sharper focus for each unit, clearer P&L accountability, or the ability to attract specialized investment into a standalone entity.
What this means for employees and investors
For employees, the reversal may bring relief by avoiding the uncertainty of a separation process — often a period of restructuring, shifting reporting lines, and new performance metrics. Retention and morale tend to improve when leadership decisions prioritize continuity.
Investors will watch for how management articulates the company’s path to growth and profitability now that the restructuring plan is off the table. The market reaction will depend on whether stakeholders see this as a pragmatic move to protect value or as a retreat from plans aimed at unlocking shareholder value.
Strategic choices going forward
With founders remaining in charge and Airlearn retained, the company has several strategic levers it can pull:
- Double down on integration to create a more unified product ecosystem that drives engagement and monetization.
- Prioritize operational efficiencies and cost control to improve unit economics.
- Explore partnerships or targeted investments to strengthen specific verticals while keeping overall control.
- Rethink timing for any future structural changes if market conditions or business performance warrant it.
The cancellation of the hive-off and the decision by the founders to stay provide short-term stability and preserve strategic options. How the company capitalizes on that stability — by sharpening its product focus, improving financial discipline, or accelerating growth initiatives — will determine whether this proves a prudent course correction or a missed opportunity.