Unacademy co-founder Gaurav Munjal is moving from chief executive to Executive Chairman, and chief business officer Akhilendra Kumar will take over as chief executive. Munjal announced the change on 11 November 2026 in a post on X, saying he would stay closely involved in running the company every day.
The handover comes just over two months after upGrad completed its acquisition of Unacademy in September. Munjal will now work alongside Kumar and help with the proposed initial public offering of upGrad.
Munjal announced the move himself
Munjal shared the news in his own words, and made clear that the move is not an exit. He said he would remain involved in operations, support Kumar and help with the upGrad IPO.
“Some personal news: I’m moving from CEO to Executive Chairman of Unacademy, and Akhilendra Kumar will take over as CEO. To be clear, I’m not going anywhere. I’ll stay fully involved in operations every day, work alongside Akhilendra and help with the upGrad IPO. Akhilendra is one of the sharpest operators I know, and I’m proud to have him lead us into this next chapter. The best is still ahead.”
Gaurav Munjal, Co-founder, Unacademy
An internal elevation
Kumar’s appointment is an internal elevation. He joined Unacademy in 2022 and moved through the roles of assistant vice president for business and vice president for business before becoming chief business officer in 2025.
Before Unacademy, Kumar spent nearly four years at OYO in operations and supply network roles, and earlier worked at Exide Industries. He has spent close to five years inside Unacademy, which gives him a direct view of the business he now leads.
Two months after the upGrad deal
The change follows upGrad’s all-stock acquisition of Unacademy, which closed in September 2026 and valued the company at just over 200 million dollars. The deal covered Unacademy’s test preparation operations and subsidiaries including PrepLadder, Graphy and Airlearn.
The price was about 94 percent below the company’s peak valuation of around 3.4 billion dollars in 2021. The Competition Commission of India cleared the combination in July 2026, and Unacademy’s shareholders received shares in upGrad while the company kept its brands and businesses.
The timing is earlier than the September deal had suggested. The transaction had envisaged Munjal continuing as chief executive for at least two years, but the handover has come after a little over two months.
What Kumar takes over
Unacademy began as a YouTube channel in 2010 and became an education technology platform in 2015. Munjal founded it with Roman Saini and Hemesh Singh, and it grew into one of India’s best known test preparation brands.
The company now covers competitive examinations such as UPSC, JEE, NEET and GATE, and it also runs offline centres alongside its online courses. Kumar inherits a business that spans both formats under the upGrad umbrella.
What comes next
The test for Kumar is to run the business while the upGrad IPO takes shape. Munjal’s continued presence gives the handover continuity, and the next sign of progress will be how the combined group performs as it prepares to list.
