Unacademy rolls out Rs 50 crore ESOP buyback to provide liquidity to employees

Gaurav Munjal, co-founder, Unacademy.

• Unacademy launches Rs 50 crore ESOP buyback for staff liquidity
• Buyback to aid employees during restructuring
• Some employees to receive payouts exceeding Rs 1 crore

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Edtech firm Unacademy has initiated a Rs 50 crore employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) buyback, co-founder Gaurav Munjal said on February 27, as the company looks to offer liquidity to current and former staff.

The move assumes significance as it comes months after the company had allowed former employees to convert vested ESOPs into shares at a sharply reduced valuation as part of a broader restructuring exercise, a step that had raised concerns among some holders about liquidity amid the company’s ongoing reset and the lack of a near-term exit event.

“Unacademy has initiated the process of doing an ESOPs Buyback of 50 crores,” Munjal said in a post on X, adding that the board carved out a cash pool for employees. “Grateful to the Board for carving out a Cash Pool for the Employees even though the Valuation is significantly less than our last Fundraise.”

The buyback will result in payouts for a section of employees. According to Munjal, eight individuals will receive more than Rs 1 crore each, 17 will receive over Rs 50 lakh, and 38 will get more than Rs 10 lakh. The company will reach out to eligible participants over the next few weeks to complete the process.

The development comes as Unacademy has been recalibrating its operations over the past year, cutting costs, narrowing focus to its core test-prep business and reworking its operating model to improve sustainability amid a broader slowdown in the edtech sector.

More recently, the company has been transitioning away from directly running offline coaching centres and moving to a franchise-led approach to reduce capital intensity. The shift followed the collapse of acquisition discussions with upGrad after the companies were unable to agree on valuation terms.

The ESOP buyback provides a cash realisation opportunity for employees at a time when liquidity events across the startup ecosystem have become less frequent, with several late-stage companies opting for secondary transactions or structured buybacks to reward and retain talent while they move toward more profitability-driven models.

Unacademy, which was last valued at $3.4 billion at its peak, has since been undergoing a broader reset alongside several pandemic-era edtech firms adjusting to slower growth and tighter funding conditions.