Unacademy Collapses, Swiggy expands 'Crew', and ‘Country of Origin’ Filter

Unacademy’s story was supposed to be India’s great edtech arc: from a scrappy YouTube channel to a SoftBank-backed unicorn that “democratized learning.” Instead, it’s ending like a clearance sale. upGrad is in advanced talks to acquire Unacademy’s core test-prep and offline business for about $300-$400 million, roughly a 90% wipeout from its $3.44 billion peak in August 2021, after raising ~$880 million. Strip out ~₹1,200 crore in cash on the books and you realize the buyer is mostly paying for the balance sheet and a user funnel, not a future. That’s not a merger; that’s a salvage.

The crash didn’t happen overnight. During the boom, Unacademy turned growth into a spectacle - IPL sponsorships, city takeovers, and a full-blown faculty war in Kota. Star teachers were reportedly poached at up to ₹20 crore a year, with crores more poured into marketing to chase the same student over and over. It built the cost structure of a premium software company in a business that behaves like services: low margins, trust-driven, price-sensitive, and brutally local. When COVID tailwinds died, the math buckled. Revenue slid, online test-prep degrew, and layoffs chopped the workforce by 50%+. Losses narrowed only after deep cuts, not because unit economics suddenly worked.

The “offline pivot” was the tell. If your core promise is tech leverage, opening dozens of physical centres - and fighting Allen and PW on their home turf - means the app story is over. You’ve traded infinite software margins for leases, faculty guarantees, and city-by-city utilization. It also exposed a founder-market fit problem: the very leaders who thrived on blitzscale didn’t want to run a slow, operational, tuition-centre business. Investors read that signal as clearly as students do exam solutions.

The sale process itself shows where power sits now. Talks with rivals (Allen, PhysicsWallah, others) fizzled because even big discounts couldn’t justify the integration risk. Why buy a high-burn machine when you can just poach the teachers and the toppers? upGrad works because there’s common cap-table logic (Temasek in both) and because an all-stock, cash-sweetened swap is easier when the real asset is the cash, content, and a younger funnel that upGrad can cross-sell into degrees and upskilling. It’s consolidation as triage.

Look at the financial arc and the message is loud. At peak, Unacademy was burning upwards of ₹2,000-3,000 crore a year; by FY24 the loss narrowed to ~₹631 crore, but with revenue slipping and interest income masking weakness. That’s not a turnaround; that’s survival. Meanwhile, the market itself moved. Kota enrolments fell, parents went back to outcomes and affordability, and the platform that mastered “cheap, disciplined, hybrid” - PhysicsWallah - pulled away on trust and price (₹999-₹4,000 courses vs lakhs for offline). When a low-cost player lists while the premium one sells for parts, you’re watching a playbook reverse in real time.

The founder chapter is equally instructive. Airlearn, the AI language-learning spin-off, gives Gaurav Munjal and Roman Saini a clean slate, better unit economics, and (reportedly) a larger personal stake than their diluted Unacademy holdings. It’s a rational move: global TAM, subscription stickiness, software margins. But it’s also the quiet confession that Indian test-prep is not a VC rocket; it’s a craft business that rewards discipline over drama. When the newco is carved out and the oldco is sold down, the incentives are telling you where the real upside now lives.

Zoom out and this is the end of edtech’s “funding-fueled” era. The pandemic tricked everyone into thinking habit formation had arrived; what really arrived was a temporary monopoly of attention. When schools reopened, payback periods stretched, LTV/CAC broke, and “growth at any cost” died. Funding to the sector cratered ~85% from peak, and the deals that do happen are either profitable hybrids or consolidation to shore up IPO stories somewhere else. The market is re-pricing risk, not education.

Who wins from here? The companies that look boring on Instagram and beautiful in cash flow. PhysicsWallah - disciplined pricing, founder-led trust, hybrid infra - has already shown that edtech can make money in India, just not at unicorn burn rates. upGrad may win the funnel game if it integrates without inheriting the worst costs and uses Unacademy’s cash to clean house ahead of its own listing. Allen will keep minting ranks and profits when cycles allow. The constant is the consumer: outcomes first, price second, brand third.

We think Unacademy’s distress sale isn’t a tragedy; it’s a course correction. India didn’t reject edtech. India rejected edtech priced and run like late-stage software. When the dust settles, this sector will be smaller, slower - and much healthier.

Let’s go through what else is happening in Indian startup world - Grab your simmering cup of StartupChai.in and unwind with our hand-brewed memes.

“Paapi Pet Ka Sawal Hai”: Swiggy expands 'Crew' to Bengaluru, Mumbai, and NCR

Swiggy’s not just feeding cravings anymore, it’s managing calendars. With Crew, its new travel and lifestyle concierge, the company is now taking care of everything from dinner bookings to Aadhaar updates.

After a successful pilot, the service lands in Bengaluru, Mumbai, and NCR, promising urban professionals an AI-powered blend of efficiency and indulgence.

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“Waah Kya Khushboo Hai”: Fragrance and flavors company Sacheerome is powering FMCG majors

From trading saffron and musk in old Kolkata to crafting scents for ITC and Wipro, Sacheerome has come a long way.

The century-old fragrance and flavor maker now runs a robotic, high-precision factory brewing over 10,000 unique formulations. Its creations waft through products from India to 30-plus countries, quietly powering how the world smells and tastes.

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“Bharat Ka Rehnewala Hoon, Bharat Ki Geet Gata Hoon”: Centre Proposes Mandatory ‘Country of Origin’ Filter for Ecommerce Platforms

The Centre now wants e-commerce apps to make “Made in India” easier to find. A new draft proposal would require platforms to add a Country of Origin filter, letting shoppers sort by where products come from.

The move builds on earlier mandates, giving Indian manufacturers a fairer shot at visibility and your cart, too.

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1. Logistics startup QuickShift has raised INR 22 Cr from Atomic Capital and others to scale its AI-led fulfilment network. The company plans to expand operations across major metros, adding new facilities in Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Mumbai.

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2. Aequs has raised INR 144 Cr through a pre-IPO placement to SBI Fund Management, DSP Mutual Fund and Think Investments. The aerospace components maker will reduce its upcoming fresh issue size by the same amount ahead of its public listing.
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3. AI shopping startup shoppin’ has raised $3 Mn in a seed round led by Mixi Global Investments and Info Edge Ventures. The funds will fuel its expansion across the US and Western markets as it aims to reach 1 Mn users with its multi-modal search engine for apparel.
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4. GreenFi has raised $2 Mn in seed funding led by Transition VC to scale its AI-driven ESG risk platform. The startup plans to expand globally while enhancing its product that unifies ESG data from reports, disclosures, and media into one intelligent dashboard.
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5. Edtech major PhysicsWallah has raised INR 1,562.8 Cr from anchor investors ahead of its IPO, with shares priced at INR 109 each. Domestic mutual funds took 55% of the anchor round, while global investors like Goldman Sachs, Fidelity, and Invesco also joined the mix.
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6. Praan Health has raised Rs 8.5 Cr in a seed round led by Rainmatter Investments, with participation from WEH Ventures and angel investors like Alakh Pandey and Arjun Vaidya. The startup will use the funds to enhance its tech, expand its care teams, and scale services across India.
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