Unacademy announces ESOP buyback worth nearly ₹30 crore for its employees

• Employees who have completed over a year with the company will be eligible for this program.
• In September this year, Unacademy became a unicorn with a $1.45 billion valuation after the much-talked-about funding from SoftBank.
• Unacademy’s ESOP buyback plan is taking place for the second time, the first time being in September 2019.

India’s latest edtech unicorn Unacademy has announced ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) buyback for ₹25-30 crore.

“All vested ESOPs until December 10, 2020 will be eligible for the buyback and current and exited employees may liquidate between 25% to 100% of vested ESOPs based on a specified scheme,” said the company’s statement. Employees who have completed over a year with the company will be eligible for this program.

Unacademy’s ESOP buyback plan is taking place for the second time, the first time being in September 2019.

In September this year, the company achieved the prestigious unicorn status, with a $1.45 billion valuation after the much-talked-about funding from SoftBank.

Unacademy had also raised funding from Facebook in February, the social media giant’s second direct investment in India. The startup is also backed by Sequoia India, Nexus Venture Partners, Steadview Capital and Blume Ventures, and individual investors Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO, Flipkart, and Sujeet Kumar, co-founder, Udaan.

The five-year-old startup is also one of the official sponsors for the ongoing Indian Premier League. The startup is also one of the edtech startups that benefited from the coronavirus lockdown and the subsequent shift to online learning. Unacademy has over 13 million learners on its platform.

Startups and their ESOP offerings

Unacademy joins the long list of startups who have announced ESOP buybacks this year. In August, home services startup Urban Company, had announced its third ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) sale for $5 million. Zerodha announced that from the ESOP pool of ₹200 crore, employees would be permitted to sell 5-50% of the 33% of their shares that vest this year.

In September, Sharechat had announced that it had added $14 million to its ESOP (employee stock ownership plan) pool, taking the total to $35 million. Meanwhile, OYO had allotted ESOPs (employee stock ownership plan) worth ₹130 crore ($18 million) for its furloughed employees.


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