Can Gaurav Munjal make Unacademy profitable?

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Editor's note: When Unacademy transitioned from being a YouTube channel to a company in 2015, it looked like it was onto something big. The idea was simple: Bring together millions of students preparing for competitive exams across the country on one digital platform. It tasted success almost immediately. Gaurav Munjal, the co-founder and CEO who was still a few summers away from turning 30, had disrupted, even streamlined to an extent, one of the most fragmented industries in India.  Fast forward to 2022, and that idea looks far from reaching fruition. Growth engines have lost steam. Sections of edtech are shrinking faster than they expanded, even as only a fraction of the potential market remains addressed. And, edtech firms are searching for a future in the past as they open offline centres to usher in the next phase of growth.  Unacademy, after seven years of chopping, churning and building the business, and more than $800 million in VC investment, finds itself in a tricky position. Its 2021-22 earnings report has come as a stark reminder of the challenges it faces. On a …