Big Story | SoftBank in talks to invest in learning startup Unacademy at $1.2 billion valuation

Japanese investment giant SoftBank is in advanced talks to invest $150-200 million in online learning platform Unacademy, valuing the company at $1.2 billion pre-money. The deal is expected to be closed over the next few weeks, and although other late-stage technology funds are interested and are vying for a stake, SoftBank is the frontrunner.

Unacademy’s competitor Byju’s is the only other online learning platform among India’s unicorns. Edtech companies such as Unacademy and Byju’s —  valued at over $10 billion — have been among the few businesses that benefited from the coronavirus lockdown as schools remained shuttered and people stayed indoors.

In this edition of Big Story, let's find out if the investment by SoftBank will mint a new unicorn in India.