Unacademy Cofounders Plan ₹700 Cr AI, Deeptech Fund Longshot Capital

Unacademy cofounders Gaurav Munjal and Roman Saini are raising a ₹700 Cr venture capital fund to back AI and deeptech startups, less than two months after upGrad completed the acquisition of the edtech startup. Named Longshot Capital, the Category II AIF has secured commitments of around ₹250-300 Cr and is targeting its first close in January 2027, ET reported, citing sources. Munjal and Saini declined to comment on the development. The Bengaluru-based fund plans to invest in 25-28 startups at the seed and pre-Series A stages, with initial cheques of $500,000 to $1.5 Mn and a targeted ownership stake of 8-12%. Saini will run Longshot Capital full-time, while Munjal will be involved part-time alongside his role heading Unacademy. Both founders will serve as general partners of the investment firm. The fund plans to deploy its capital over three years and will invest in India-based startups as well as companies founded by entrepreneurs of Indian origin. Its investment mandate will span AI-led businesses and deeptech segments such as manufacturing, space, defence and robotics, rather than consumer brands and retail businesses, the report said. The fund will have a lifespan of 10-11 years, allowing it to back businesses with longer gestation periods, particularly in AI and deeptech, according to the report. Its prospective investors include startup founders, family offices and overseas institutions. The fund formalises more than a decade of angel investing by Munjal and Saini. The two have collectively invested over ₹25 Cr through more than 200 angel cheques in companies including Pine Labs, Dhan, Seekho, Ultrahuman, Snabbit, Swish, STAGE, and Third Wave Coffee. In August, the duo also invested in Superleap, an AI-native customer relationship management platform. The proposed fund comes amid growing investor interest in frontier technologies, with Indian AI startups raising $438 Mn across 28 deals in the third quarter of 2026, up 265% YoY. Meanwhile, deeptech startups raised $290 Mn across 28 deals during the same period, up 176% YoY. Unacademy Founders’ Second Act The move adds Munjal and Saini to a growing group of startup founders transitioning from personal angel investments to institutional fund management. Snapdeal cofounders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal raised ₹333 Cr in external capital for Titan Capital in 2024. Freshworks founder Girish Mathrubootham cofounded the AI-focused Together Fund, while CaratLane founder Mithun Sacheti joined Singularity Growth as a general partner after his exit. Myntra founder Mukesh Bansal operates venture studio Meraki Labs. The latest development comes over a month after upGrad acquired Unacademy in an all-stock transaction valuing it at ₹1,955 Cr, more than 90% below its peak valuation of $3.4 Bn in August 2021. Founded in 2015 by Munjal, Saini and Hemesh Singh, Unacademy started as a YouTube channel before evolving into an online learning platform focused on competitive exam preparation. It raised around $880 Mn from investors including SoftBank, Peak XV Partners, Elevation Capital, General Atlantic, Temasek, and Tiger Global. The startup became a unicorn in September 2020 and reached its peak valuation of $3.5 Bn in 2021, amid a pandemic-led boom in edtech investments. However, the reopening of educational institutions and a slowdown in demand for online learning forced Unacademy to rethink its business strategy. Unacademy undertook multiple rounds of layoffs, cut cash burn and scaled down several verticals as it sought to move towards profitability. It also expanded into offline coaching centres to tap demand for in-person test preparation. Unacademy subsequently explored acquisition opportunities with multiple players, including Allen Career Institute, K-12 Techno Services and upGrad. Its earlier merger discussions with upGrad fell through over valuation differences before the two companies revived negotiations and signed a term sheet in March. The acquisition was completed in September. Meanwhile, Munjal, on X yesterday, pushed back on criticism against the risk appetite of Indian deeptech investors, highlighting that startups like Astrobase, Airbound and Sarvam AI have been able to raise large rounds in short time periods. He also noted that consumer tech companies like Groww, Eternal and Meesho, all of whom went public in recent years, have provided “spectacular outcomes”.

Source: Inc42 (India)