Just over nine months ago, in April 2025, Unacademy CEO Gaurav Munjal proclaimed that nearly 70% of the company’s offline coaching centres would turn profitable by the end of the year. At the time, it felt as if Unacademy’s long-pursued hybrid strategy, marrying online scale with offline monetisation, was about to pay off.

Cut to January 2026, Unacademy has changed its tune yet again.

In a recent internal communication marked to his employees, Munjal announced that Unacademy would now transition to a franchise model.

Under the new regime, franchise owners will manage day-to-day operations, while Unacademy will supply academic content, technology infrastructure, and brand reach.

The company, Munjal emphasised, will remain asset-light and capital-efficient. The transition, he said, is expected to be completed by April this year.

While the email does not explicitly outline the rationale behind the move, the new narrative seems to be a deliberate cost-containment exercise.

The timing of the announcement also tells us something important. The internal mail was circulated shortly after Unacademy’s acquisition talks with upGrad fell through, reportedly over valuation differences. This context matters because it frames the franchise pivot not merely as a strategic evolution but also as a recalibration following failed external rescue attempts.

Against this background, let’s revisit how the past few years have unravelled for Unacademy, which seems to be quietly rewriting its playbook.

Unacademy’s Prolonged Cost-Correction Phase

The Bengaluru-based edtech firm was once the second most........

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