Unacademy CTO Hemesh Singh Steps Down, Moves To Advisory Role

Hemesh Singh, cofounder and Chief Technology Officer of the SoftBank-backed edtech platform Unacademy, announced his resignation from his executive role after nearly nine years with the company. 

Singh will transition into an advisory position, a change he disclosed on the social media platform X. Reflecting on his journey, Singh expressed his pride in the transformation of the test preparation industry. “After almost a decade of building Unacademy with Gaurav Munjal and Roman Saini, I have decided to move from an executive role to an advisory role… We did change the test prep industry for good. What a crazy journey it has been,” he said.

Unacademy began as a YouTube channel created by Munjal, Singh, and Saini before evolving into a comprehensive edtech platform in 2015. 

Gaurav Munjal, sharing Singh’s announcement, reminisced about their long-standing partnership which started with their work on Flatchat 11 years ago. Munjal expressed his gratitude and admiration for Singh's contributions. “It has been a crazy ride and I have been grateful to have a co-founder like you. Unacademy will miss you,” he mentioned.

Headquartered in Bengaluru, Unacademy reported 41 per cent reduction in net loss for the fiscal year 2023, despite undergoing multiple rounds of layoffs. The company’s net loss decreased to Rs 1,678.15 crore for the year ending 31 March, down from Rs 2,847.93 crore in FY22. Concurrently, Unacademy’s revenue grew by 26 per cent, reaching Rs 907.01 crore. 

The company’s last major funding round, in August 2021, secured USD 440 million led by Singapore’s Temasek Holdings, valuing Unacademy at USD 3.4 billion.

Singh’s exit follows a series of high-profile departures from the edtech startup, which has concentrated heavily on the test preparation segment and is now shifting towards more offline activities.