Big Story | SoftBank in talks to invest in learning startup Unacademy at $1.2 billion valuation

Japanese investment giant SoftBank is in advanced talks to invest $150-200 million in online learning platform Unacademy, valuing the company at $1.2 billion pre-money. The deal is expected to be closed over the next few weeks, and although other late-stage technology funds are interested and are vying for a stake, SoftBank is the frontrunner.

Unacademy’s competitor Byju’s is the only other online learning platform among India’s unicorns. Edtech companies such as Unacademy and Byju’s —  valued at over $10 billion — have been among the few businesses that benefited from the coronavirus lockdown as schools remained shuttered and people stayed indoors.