Gaurav Munjal may have a bigger investment in Airlearn, Unacademy’s AI-driven language learning application, than he does in the parent company.

According to a Mint report referencing knowledgeable sources, the anticipated action coincides with the edtech cofounder’s preparations to separate Airlearn into its own entity.

Munjal currently owns a 3.4% stake in Unacademy and is looking to acquire a larger share in Airlearn.

This also closely follows reports of Munjal and his co-founder Roman Saini stepping back from their daily responsibilities.

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Further sources informed Mint that Munjal is negotiating with current investors Peak XV and Nexus Venture Partners about further funding in light of spin-off plans.

A source stated, “Currently, talks are still in progress and many factors are in flux, but it is anticipated that investors such as General Atlantic and SoftBank will keep mirror shareholding in the separated entity.”

Munjal has been contacted by media for his views on the progress.  The narrative will be revised according to the feedback.

Founded in 2015 by Munjal, Saini, and Hemesh Singh, Unacademy Datalabs provides online learning services for students and professionals preparing for competitive exams.

It is reported that Sumit Jain, a board member of Unacademy, will take over Munjal’s role.

Munjal and Saini each have a stake of 3.4%, while Singh, who transitioned to an advisory role at Unacademy last year, holds a 2.2% stake.

It is important to highlight that the majority of Unacademy’s revenue is derived from its offline business.  As per sources who spoke to media, Munjal was interested in a technology-driven model and could not dedicate himself to heading Unacademy’s offline business.

Additionally, they stated that Munjal aimed to revert to a tech-first edtech model, with Airlearn being the most recent attempt.

 According to sources knowledgeable about Unacademy’s developments, “Munjal has been exclusively focused on Airlearn for over a year, while Saini lost interest in advancing Unacademy some time ago.”

Shashank Murali, who co-founded TapChief and sold his startup to Unacademy in 2021, is also planning to join Munjal in building Airlearn.

They informed media that Munjal had indicated to the board that he can no longer commit to leading Unacademy’s offline tuition centre business, which accounts for 40%-50% of the company’s revenues.

Munjal and Unacademy previously attempted to sell the company at a valuation of $800 million to $1 billion to potential buyers like Allen Career Institute or K-12 Techno Services, but these efforts were unsuccessful.

To date, Unacademy has secured over $838.50 million from investors including Temasek, SoftBank, General Atlantic, and Blume Ventures, among others.