Byju’s is in no rush to save Gaurav Munjal’s Unacademy

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Editor's note: Sometime around the end of December or early January, Unacademy, or someone representing it, reached out to Byju Raveendran, the co-founder of Byju’s, India’s largest edtech company. They suggested a merger with Aakash Educational Services, the offline coaching business on which Byju’s has been trying to build its future. This is not the first time that the two companies have tried to explore the prospect of working together. Almost three years ago, right before COVID-19 forced a lockdown, the founders of both startups met several times. Details vary depending on who you talk to, but this much is certain: Byju Raveendran made an offer to Unacademy CEO and co-founder Gaurav Munjal for a potential collaboration or a straight-out buyout. But after some back and forth, the two walked away because they could not agree on two things: valuation and who gets to run the show after the deal. Something similar happened this time around too. It is unclear if it was Munjal who reached out to Raveendran or if common investors set it up. Byju’s and Unacademy have some marquee …