Happy Wednesday! Unacademy cofounders are exiting the edtech firm. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.
Also in the letter:
■ AI price tags
■ Infosys-Cognizant legal spat
■ BlackBuck turns profitable
Exclusive: Unacademy founders Munjal, Saini set to exit, shift focus to AirLearn
(L-R) Gaurav Munjal and Roman Saini, cofounders, Unacademy
Gaurav Munjal and Roman Saini, cofounders of Unacademy, are preparing to depart from the SoftBank-backed edtech firm as it doubles down on its offline coaching pivot, people in the know told us. Sumit Jain, who joined Unacademy in 2020 through the acquisition of his startup Opentalk, will take over as CEO, they added.
Why it matters: The leadership shake-up follows months of boardroom deliberations and coincides with the founders’ growing focus on AirLearn, a standalone language learning app aiming to take on Duolingo. AirLearn has hit 70,000 daily active users (DAUs) and a $2 million revenue run rate, Munjal recently told staff.
Backdrop: Munjal and Saini are expected to receive a cash payout while retaining their equity in the company. Their departure follows Unacademy’s scrapped $800 million deal with Allen Career Institute, as reported by us on December 4, and comes amid a wider edtech slump that has seen peers like Byju’s collapse.
The big picture: Once valued at $3.4 billion, Unacademy has struggled to hold onto its pandemic-era highs. It posted Rs 840 crore in revenue for FY24 and cut net losses to Rs 631 crore. The company still has Rs 1,200 crore in the bank, according to Munjal.
Ola Electric slips to number three in EV two-wheeler market as rivals gain ground
Bhavish Aggarwal, founder, Ola Electric
Ola Electric, once the market leader in India’s electric two-wheeler segment, fell to third position in May, ceding ground to legacy rivals TVS Motor and Bajaj Auto.
By the numbers: The Bhavish Aggarwal-led company’s market share dropped to 20% during May 1–26, down from 22.1% in April, and a sharp decline from over 50% just 13 months ago. Registrations fell to 15,221 units—nearly 60% lower than the 37,388 units logged in May 2024.
Rivals on the rise:
Mounting headwinds: Ola Electric’s slump comes amid a broader sector slowdown and growing internal challenges, including regulatory scrutiny, operational inefficiencies, and concerns over after-sales service. The firm is also under investigation over discrepancies between reported and actual vehicle registrations.
Mismatch with targets: The latest figures stand in sharp contrast to CEO Aggarwal’s ambitious goal of 50,000 monthly unit sales, which is necessary to achieve breakeven. Earlier this month, Ola Electric approved raising up to Rs 1,700 crore through debt instruments—its first funding move since its initial public offering (IPO) in August 2024. The company’s shares continue to trade below the Rs 76 issue price, closing at Rs 52.49 on Tuesday.
What’s next: With intensifying competition and declining customer trust, Ola Electric faces an uphill task in regaining lost momentum.
Also Read: Exclusive: Ola brand IP may transfer to Bhavish Aggarwal’s family office amid group restructuring
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Top AI firms pivot to profitability track leaving price wars behind
Artificial intelligence (AI) companies are shifting focus to profitability after slashing model prices by as much as 65–90% last year.
Driving the news: Tech giants such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, and Google are rolling out new models at roughly flat or even higher price points. While the overall cost of intelligence may still fall over time, the pace is slowing as firms stop rushing to train successive models—posing fresh challenges for startups reliant on them.
Quote, unquote: “AI companies may not have reached optimal pricing yet, but the rate of price reduction is clearly slowing down,” said Naga Santhosh Josyula, cofounder of AI-powered coding platform TableSprint.
Fresh challenges: For Indian startups, this pricing plateau is already taking a toll. Many are struggling to scale AI applications, invest meaningfully in R&D, or pass on savings to customers—leading to growing dependence on external capital.
“Running production-grade agents at scale isn’t cheap. It affects pricing strategy, performance tuning, and R&D allocations,” said Somit Srivastava, CTO of wealthtech firm Wealthy.
The way ahead: Startups will need to be strategic in how they deploy AI—using model routing, hybrid stacks, or specialised agents—rather than waiting for costs to drop further. TableSprint’s Josyula said the firm has been able to rein in costs by deploying smaller, optimised models for specific tasks.
Other Top Stories By Our Reporters
US court asks Infosys, Cognizant to resolve case via informal deal: A US court has asked both Infosys and Cognizant Technology Solutions to attempt to resolve the case by oral agreement. Failing to do this, they can “seek an informal telephone conference with the court to attempt to resolve” the conflict, the bench said.
Oyo to meet bankers next week for third IPO attempt: Oravel Stays Ltd, the parent company of hospitality startup Oyo, is set to formally review proposals from merchant bankers next week as it prepares for a fresh attempt at an initial public offering (IPO), targeting a valuation of $5–7 billion, according to multiple people familiar with the development.
Info Edge Q4 profit surges 8x to Rs 678 crore on one-time gains: The Naukri parent saw its net profit rise to Rs 678 crore in the March quarter from Rs 88 crore on reclassification of a joint venture investment as financial investments and long-term capital gains tax rate change. Operating revenue increased 14% to Rs 750 crore during the period.
Blackbuck turns in a profit of Rs 280 crore in Q4: Trucking aggregator BlackBuck owner Zinka Logistics saw a 31% year-on-year (YoY) increase in operating revenue, reaching Rs 121.8 crore, up from Rs 93.2 crore a year ago. It posted a net profit of Rs 280 crore, compared to a net loss of Rs 90.7 crore in the same quarter last year.
Logistics SaaS startup Fleetx raises Rs 113 crore: The Gurgaon-based firm raised Rs 113 crore in a funding round led by existing investors Indiamart Intermesh and Beenext (through its Accelerate Fund).
Frinks AI raises $5.4 million in fresh round: Frinks AI has raised $5.4 million in a round led by Prime Venture Partners, along with Chiratae Ventures, as well as new investors Navam Capital and Zen Technologies founder Ashok Atluri.
Contineu raises $1.2 million: Deeptech startup Contineu has secured $1.2 million in a seed funding round led by SenseAI Ventures, with participation from Piper Serica Angel Fund.
Global Picks We Are Reading
■ Google CEO Sundar Pichai on the future of search, AI agents, and selling Chrome ( The Verge)
■ The math tutor and the missing $533 million ( Rest of World)
■ WordPress has formed an AI team ( Techcrunch)
Also in the letter:
■ AI price tags
■ Infosys-Cognizant legal spat
■ BlackBuck turns profitable
Exclusive: Unacademy founders Munjal, Saini set to exit, shift focus to AirLearn
Gaurav Munjal and Roman Saini, cofounders of Unacademy, are preparing to depart from the SoftBank-backed edtech firm as it doubles down on its offline coaching pivot, people in the know told us. Sumit Jain, who joined Unacademy in 2020 through the acquisition of his startup Opentalk, will take over as CEO, they added.
Why it matters: The leadership shake-up follows months of boardroom deliberations and coincides with the founders’ growing focus on AirLearn, a standalone language learning app aiming to take on Duolingo. AirLearn has hit 70,000 daily active users (DAUs) and a $2 million revenue run rate, Munjal recently told staff.
Backdrop: Munjal and Saini are expected to receive a cash payout while retaining their equity in the company. Their departure follows Unacademy’s scrapped $800 million deal with Allen Career Institute, as reported by us on December 4, and comes amid a wider edtech slump that has seen peers like Byju’s collapse.
The big picture: Once valued at $3.4 billion, Unacademy has struggled to hold onto its pandemic-era highs. It posted Rs 840 crore in revenue for FY24 and cut net losses to Rs 631 crore. The company still has Rs 1,200 crore in the bank, according to Munjal.
Ola Electric slips to number three in EV two-wheeler market as rivals gain ground
Bhavish Aggarwal, founder, Ola Electric Ola Electric, once the market leader in India’s electric two-wheeler segment, fell to third position in May, ceding ground to legacy rivals TVS Motor and Bajaj Auto.
By the numbers: The Bhavish Aggarwal-led company’s market share dropped to 20% during May 1–26, down from 22.1% in April, and a sharp decline from over 50% just 13 months ago. Registrations fell to 15,221 units—nearly 60% lower than the 37,388 units logged in May 2024.
Rivals on the rise:
- TVS Motor and Bajaj Auto increased their market shares to 25% and 22.6%, respectively, in May, despite slight dips in absolute volumes.
- Ather Energy’s share declined to 13.1%, from 14.9% in April.
Mounting headwinds: Ola Electric’s slump comes amid a broader sector slowdown and growing internal challenges, including regulatory scrutiny, operational inefficiencies, and concerns over after-sales service. The firm is also under investigation over discrepancies between reported and actual vehicle registrations.
Mismatch with targets: The latest figures stand in sharp contrast to CEO Aggarwal’s ambitious goal of 50,000 monthly unit sales, which is necessary to achieve breakeven. Earlier this month, Ola Electric approved raising up to Rs 1,700 crore through debt instruments—its first funding move since its initial public offering (IPO) in August 2024. The company’s shares continue to trade below the Rs 76 issue price, closing at Rs 52.49 on Tuesday.
What’s next: With intensifying competition and declining customer trust, Ola Electric faces an uphill task in regaining lost momentum.
Also Read: Exclusive: Ola brand IP may transfer to Bhavish Aggarwal’s family office amid group restructuring
Sponsor ETtech Top 5 & Morning Dispatch!
Why it matters: ETtech Top 5 and Morning Dispatch are must-reads for India’s tech and business leaders, including startup founders, investors, policy makers, industry insiders and employees.
The opportunity:
- Reach a highly engaged audience of decision-makers.
- Boost your brand’s visibility among the tech-savvy community.
- Custom sponsorship options to align with your brand’s goals.
What’s next: Interested? Reach out to us at spotlightpartner@timesinternet.in to explore sponsorship opportunities.
Top AI firms pivot to profitability track leaving price wars behind
Artificial intelligence (AI) companies are shifting focus to profitability after slashing model prices by as much as 65–90% last year.
Driving the news: Tech giants such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, and Google are rolling out new models at roughly flat or even higher price points. While the overall cost of intelligence may still fall over time, the pace is slowing as firms stop rushing to train successive models—posing fresh challenges for startups reliant on them.
Quote, unquote: “AI companies may not have reached optimal pricing yet, but the rate of price reduction is clearly slowing down,” said Naga Santhosh Josyula, cofounder of AI-powered coding platform TableSprint.
Fresh challenges: For Indian startups, this pricing plateau is already taking a toll. Many are struggling to scale AI applications, invest meaningfully in R&D, or pass on savings to customers—leading to growing dependence on external capital.
“Running production-grade agents at scale isn’t cheap. It affects pricing strategy, performance tuning, and R&D allocations,” said Somit Srivastava, CTO of wealthtech firm Wealthy.
The way ahead: Startups will need to be strategic in how they deploy AI—using model routing, hybrid stacks, or specialised agents—rather than waiting for costs to drop further. TableSprint’s Josyula said the firm has been able to rein in costs by deploying smaller, optimised models for specific tasks.
Other Top Stories By Our Reporters
US court asks Infosys, Cognizant to resolve case via informal deal: A US court has asked both Infosys and Cognizant Technology Solutions to attempt to resolve the case by oral agreement. Failing to do this, they can “seek an informal telephone conference with the court to attempt to resolve” the conflict, the bench said.
Oyo to meet bankers next week for third IPO attempt: Oravel Stays Ltd, the parent company of hospitality startup Oyo, is set to formally review proposals from merchant bankers next week as it prepares for a fresh attempt at an initial public offering (IPO), targeting a valuation of $5–7 billion, according to multiple people familiar with the development.
Info Edge Q4 profit surges 8x to Rs 678 crore on one-time gains: The Naukri parent saw its net profit rise to Rs 678 crore in the March quarter from Rs 88 crore on reclassification of a joint venture investment as financial investments and long-term capital gains tax rate change. Operating revenue increased 14% to Rs 750 crore during the period.
Blackbuck turns in a profit of Rs 280 crore in Q4: Trucking aggregator BlackBuck owner Zinka Logistics saw a 31% year-on-year (YoY) increase in operating revenue, reaching Rs 121.8 crore, up from Rs 93.2 crore a year ago. It posted a net profit of Rs 280 crore, compared to a net loss of Rs 90.7 crore in the same quarter last year.
Logistics SaaS startup Fleetx raises Rs 113 crore: The Gurgaon-based firm raised Rs 113 crore in a funding round led by existing investors Indiamart Intermesh and Beenext (through its Accelerate Fund).
Frinks AI raises $5.4 million in fresh round: Frinks AI has raised $5.4 million in a round led by Prime Venture Partners, along with Chiratae Ventures, as well as new investors Navam Capital and Zen Technologies founder Ashok Atluri.
Contineu raises $1.2 million: Deeptech startup Contineu has secured $1.2 million in a seed funding round led by SenseAI Ventures, with participation from Piper Serica Angel Fund.
Global Picks We Are Reading
■ Google CEO Sundar Pichai on the future of search, AI agents, and selling Chrome ( The Verge)
■ The math tutor and the missing $533 million ( Rest of World)
■ WordPress has formed an AI team ( Techcrunch)
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