'Unacademy will have its best year in terms of growth': Gaurav Munjal after laying off 250 staff

Gaurav Munjal is the founder and CEO of edtech company Unacademy.

A day after Unacademy laid off 250 people across marketing, business, product, and sales, its founder Gaurav Munjal took to X to instill confidence in the edtech company's growth and profitability.

Emphasising that the decisions now would help in the long run, he said, "There is a lot being said about Unacademy currently. To set the record straight, Unacademy will have its best year in terms of growth and profitability. We also have many years of runway. We are building Unacademy for the long run."

Munjal also sought to rubbish rumours of the company's merger or sale amid a tough funding environment.

There is a lot being said about Unacademy currently. To set the record straight, Unacademy will have its best year in terms of growth and profitability. We also have many years of runway. We are building Unacademy for the long run. Ignore the rumours.

— Gaurav Munjal (@gauravmunjal) July 3, 2024

Gaurav Munjal's clarification also comes after The Morning Context published a report that claimed that "Unacademy is up for sale, merger or bailout". Using a quote from Mark Twain, Munjal said that the report was "greatly exaggerated" and that the headline was misleading.

Support from business leaders

Meanwhile, the Unacademy founder has gathered support from business leaders such as Ola Electric founder-chairman Bhavish Aggarwal and the founder-CEO of Oyo Ritesh Agarwal.

Responding to Munjal's tweet, Aggarwal asked him to ignore the reports, while the Oyo head commented: "Keep winning, heads down and execute is the mantra."

Company's manpower drops from over 6,000 to under 2,000

After multiple layoffs over the last year, Unacademy's team strength is down to under 2,000 from more than 6,000.

After the recent round of layoffs, the company stated: "As part of our ongoing efforts to streamline operations and enhance business efficiency, we have recently undergone a restructuring exercise. This was necessary keeping in mind the company's goals and vision for the year, as we focus all our efforts on sustainable growth and profitability."

"Consequently, some roles have been impacted. While this transition won’t be easy, we will be supporting all impacted individuals during this transition," it added.

Founded in 2015 by Gaurav Munjal, Roman Saini, and Hemesh Singh, Unacademy provides an online learning platform for preparation of competitive tests.

The company has raised $877 million in funding to date and was last valued at $3.4 billion, when it raised $440 million from Temasek, General Atlantic, and others in August 2021.

The layoffs are part of the firm's efforts to achieve profitability.