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Unacademy Founders Raising ₹700 Cr AI, Deeptech Fund
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Vicky Galfat
Published
October 26, 2026
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8 MIN READ
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Unacademy founders are reportedly raising Longshot Capital, a ₹700 Cr AI and deeptech fund. What's confirmed, what's unverified, and why cheque sizes matter.
Longshot Capital; Unacademy founders VC fund; Gaurav Munjal Longshot Capital; Roman Saini venture fund; ₹700 crore AI deeptech fund; India deeptech VC fund 2026; Category II AIF India; seed and pre-Series A AI fund; upGrad Unacademy acquisition; micro VC fund India
Crucially, the two founders have not publicly confirmed the plan. Reports reproducing the ET story state that Munjal and Saini declined to comment, and at least one aggregator reviewing the same day's coverage noted that no company announcement confirming the fund could be found. Metaplugs has likewise not located an official Longshot Capital statement, regulatory disclosure, or fund website in the sources reviewed. Readers should treat the fund's terms as sourced reporting rather than confirmed, on-record fact. EntrepreneurIndia
The timing matters. The reported fundraise comes less than two months after upGrad completed its acquisition of Unacademy in an all-stock transaction valuing the edtech company at just over $200 million — a figure more than 90% below Unacademy's peak valuation of about $3.4–3.5 billion in 2021. For Munjal and Saini, Longshot would mark a shift from operating a consumer edtech platform to managing third-party capital. YourStory
Longshot Capital; Unacademy founders VC fund; Gaurav Munjal Longshot Capital; Roman Saini venture fund; ₹700 crore AI deeptech fund; India deeptech VC fund 2026; Category II AIF India; seed and pre-Series A AI fund; upGrad Unacademy acquisition; micro VC fund India
What Happened?
Unacademy co-founders Gaurav Munjal and Roman Saini are raising Longshot Capital, a venture capital vehicle targeting ₹700 crore to back early-stage artificial intelligence and deeptech startups, according to a 26 October 2026 report by The Economic Times that cited unnamed people familiar with the plan. The vehicle is described as a Category II Alternative Investment Fund based in Bengaluru, with commitments of roughly ₹250–300 crore secured so far and a first close targeted for January 2027. This is a fundraise in progress, not a closed or deployed fund. Inc42
Crucially, the two founders have not publicly confirmed the plan. Reports reproducing the ET story state that Munjal and Saini declined to comment, and at least one aggregator reviewing the same day's coverage noted that no company announcement confirming the fund could be found. Metaplugs has likewise not located an official Longshot Capital statement, regulatory disclosure, or fund website in the sources reviewed. Readers should treat the fund's terms as sourced reporting rather than confirmed, on-record fact. EntrepreneurIndia
The timing matters. The reported fundraise comes less than two months after upGrad completed its acquisition of Unacademy in an all-stock transaction valuing the edtech company at just over $200 million — a figure more than 90% below Unacademy's peak valuation of about $3.4–3.5 billion in 2021. For Munjal and Saini, Longshot would mark a shift from operating a consumer edtech platform to managing third-party capital. YourStory
What Does the Source Say?
The originating report is journalistic, not official. Based on outlets that attribute the details to ET, the fund's reported structure is specific: investments in 25–28 startups at the seed and pre-Series A stages, initial cheques of $500,000 to $1.5 million, and a targeted ownership stake of 8–12% per company. The reported sector focus spans AI, robotics, manufacturing, space and defence technology — a broader "hard tech" mandate than the consumer internet sectors the two founders built careers in. cio.eletsonline
On governance, the reporting states that Saini would run Longshot Capital full-time while Munjal participates part-time, continuing in his role heading Unacademy, with both serving as general partners. That split is material for prospective limited partners, because a part-time general partner changes the effective bandwidth of the investment team. It is reported detail attributed to sources, not a disclosed fund document. Inc42
The pair are not new to investing. Reporting describes more than ₹25 crore deployed across 200-plus angel cheques over roughly a decade, in companies including Pine Labs, Dhan, Seekho, Ultrahuman, Snabbit, Swish and STAGE. Longshot would formalise that activity into an institutional structure — but an angel track record and a fund track record are not equivalent: the latter is judged on net returns to outside LPs after fees, over a 8–10 year horizon. IndianStartupNews
On governance, the reporting states that Saini would run Longshot Capital full-time while Munjal participates part-time, continuing in his role heading Unacademy, with both serving as general partners. That split is material for prospective limited partners, because a part-time general partner changes the effective bandwidth of the investment team. It is reported detail attributed to sources, not a disclosed fund document. Inc42
The pair are not new to investing. Reporting describes more than ₹25 crore deployed across 200-plus angel cheques over roughly a decade, in companies including Pine Labs, Dhan, Seekho, Ultrahuman, Snabbit, Swish and STAGE. Longshot would formalise that activity into an institutional structure — but an angel track record and a fund track record are not equivalent: the latter is judged on net returns to outside LPs after fees, over a 8–10 year horizon. IndianStartupNews
What Is Still Unknown?
The identity of the limited partners has not been disclosed. The reports reviewed do not name which institutions, family offices or individuals have committed the reported ₹250–300 crore, nor how much of it is the founders' own capital. For a first-time fund, the share of GP commitment versus external capital is one of the most informative data points, and it is absent. Entrepreneur India
The ₹300 crore figure is imprecise and unconfirmed. Different outlets citing the same ET story describe commitments as "₹250–300 crore," "about ₹300 crore," or "over ₹250 crore." Commitments are also not cash: a commitment is a contractual promise to fund capital calls, and funds occasionally lose soft commitments before a close. Reporting itself notes the size and timeline could change. Inc42
Fund economics, fund life and the AI thesis are undisclosed. The sources reviewed do not specify management fees, carried interest, hurdle rate, fund tenure, reserve ratio, or whether the mandate covers AI applications, AI infrastructure, or both. Nor do they state how a sub-$1.5 million seed cheque strategy addresses the capital intensity of robotics, space and defence hardware, where time-to-revenue is typically far longer than in software. These remain open questions until fund documents or an on-record interview exist. Elets CIO
Munjal's post-acquisition role is reported, not documented here. Reporting states he continues to lead Unacademy under upGrad ownership; the sources reviewed do not set out how potential conflicts between an edtech operating role and a deeptech investing role would be managed. Wikipedia
The ₹300 crore figure is imprecise and unconfirmed. Different outlets citing the same ET story describe commitments as "₹250–300 crore," "about ₹300 crore," or "over ₹250 crore." Commitments are also not cash: a commitment is a contractual promise to fund capital calls, and funds occasionally lose soft commitments before a close. Reporting itself notes the size and timeline could change. Inc42
Fund economics, fund life and the AI thesis are undisclosed. The sources reviewed do not specify management fees, carried interest, hurdle rate, fund tenure, reserve ratio, or whether the mandate covers AI applications, AI infrastructure, or both. Nor do they state how a sub-$1.5 million seed cheque strategy addresses the capital intensity of robotics, space and defence hardware, where time-to-revenue is typically far longer than in software. These remain open questions until fund documents or an on-record interview exist. Elets CIO
Munjal's post-acquisition role is reported, not documented here. Reporting states he continues to lead Unacademy under upGrad ownership; the sources reviewed do not set out how potential conflicts between an edtech operating role and a deeptech investing role would be managed. Wikipedia
Why Does It Matter?
If the fund closes as reported, it is a visible example of founder liquidity recycling into deeptech. Unacademy's exit was a down-round outcome for late investors, but founders with operating credibility converting into fund managers is how domestic capital bases deepen — India's early-stage ecosystem has historically relied heavily on foreign LPs, and founder-led micro-funds change the composition of who writes the first cheque. YourStory
For founders in robotics, space and defence, the practical significance is cheque availability at the pre-Series A stage, where Indian deeptech has been thinnest. A fund planning 25–28 investments with 8–12% ownership targets is signalling a concentrated, high-conviction model rather than a spray-and-pray accelerator approach — which generally means more hands-on involvement per company, and fewer total slots than the headline corpus might suggest. Inc42
It also matters as a test of a wider pattern: edtech operators redeploying into AI. The reported move follows a period of sharp consolidation in Indian edtech, of which the upGrad–Unacademy transaction is the clearest example. Whether operating skill in a consumer subscription business transfers to underwriting semiconductor, propulsion or autonomy risk is an unresolved question, not a given. PeopleMattres
For founders in robotics, space and defence, the practical significance is cheque availability at the pre-Series A stage, where Indian deeptech has been thinnest. A fund planning 25–28 investments with 8–12% ownership targets is signalling a concentrated, high-conviction model rather than a spray-and-pray accelerator approach — which generally means more hands-on involvement per company, and fewer total slots than the headline corpus might suggest. Inc42
It also matters as a test of a wider pattern: edtech operators redeploying into AI. The reported move follows a period of sharp consolidation in Indian edtech, of which the upGrad–Unacademy transaction is the clearest example. Whether operating skill in a consumer subscription business transfers to underwriting semiconductor, propulsion or autonomy risk is an unresolved question, not a given. PeopleMattres
Our Analysis
The headline number overstates the firepower; the cheque math is the real story. Using the reported terms and an assumed exchange rate of roughly ₹88–90 per US dollar, a ₹700 crore corpus is about $78–80 million. Initial cheques of $0.5–1.5 million across 25–28 companies imply $12.5 million to $42 million of first-cheque deployment — roughly 16% to 53% of the corpus. (Method: cheque size × company count ÷ corpus; FX is an assumption, not a disclosed figure, and fees reduce investable capital further.) Our analysis is that the wide gap implies either substantial follow-on reserves or a fund that closes well below ₹700 crore. Both are normal; neither has been disclosed. Entrepreneur India
The ownership target implies a specific entry valuation band. Dividing reported cheque sizes by reported ownership targets gives implied post-money valuations of roughly $4.2 million to $18.8 million (e.g. $1 million for 10% implies $10 million post-money). That is a disciplined, classic seed range — but it sits in tension with current AI seed pricing, where credible teams frequently clear $20 million post-money. Metaplugs analysis: the 8–12% ownership target is the most likely term to slip in practice, and it is a useful metric to watch if and when the first investments are disclosed. Inc42
The commitment ratio is normal, not a red flag — but it is not a close. Reported commitments of ₹250–300 crore against a ₹700 crore target work out to approximately 36–43% of the goal (independent calculation: 250÷700 and 300÷700). First-time managers routinely announce intent well before a first close, and a January 2027 target leaves a meaningful execution window. The honest reading is that a credible raise is underway with roughly 57–64% still to be secured. IndianStartupNews
The ownership target implies a specific entry valuation band. Dividing reported cheque sizes by reported ownership targets gives implied post-money valuations of roughly $4.2 million to $18.8 million (e.g. $1 million for 10% implies $10 million post-money). That is a disciplined, classic seed range — but it sits in tension with current AI seed pricing, where credible teams frequently clear $20 million post-money. Metaplugs analysis: the 8–12% ownership target is the most likely term to slip in practice, and it is a useful metric to watch if and when the first investments are disclosed. Inc42
The commitment ratio is normal, not a red flag — but it is not a close. Reported commitments of ₹250–300 crore against a ₹700 crore target work out to approximately 36–43% of the goal (independent calculation: 250÷700 and 300÷700). First-time managers routinely announce intent well before a first close, and a January 2027 target leaves a meaningful execution window. The honest reading is that a credible raise is underway with roughly 57–64% still to be secured. IndianStartupNews
What would change our assessment: a SEBI-registered entity disclosure, an on-record statement from either founder, named anchor LPs, a declared first close, or the first portfolio announcement. Until at least one of those appears, the responsible description is that two well-known founders are reportedly raising a deeptech fund — a plan with detailed, plausible terms sourced to a reputable outlet, but without on-record confirmation from the people who would know. EletsCIO
Sources and References
Unacademy Cofounders Plan ₹700 Cr AI, Deeptech Fund Longshot Capital
After selling Unacademy, Founders Gaurav Munjal and Roman Saini turn VCs with Rs 700 crore fund
Unacademy Founders Plan ₹700 Crore Fund for AI and Deeptech Startups
Unacademy Founders Gaurav Munjal, Roman Saini Plan ₹700 Crore AI and Deeptech Fund Longshot Capital
UpGrad wraps up Unacademy acquisition at $200M
UpGrad acquires Unacademy for over $200 million in landmark edtech deal
Unacademy (company background)
Vicky Galfat
University of Mumbai/BCA
Learning, building, and exploring the world of technology one project at a time.
