Sachin Tendulkar takes guard for new innings at edtech firm Unacademy

Digital learning app Unacademy has onboarded Sachin Tendulkar as an investor in a growing trend of sports and Bollywood personalities backing start-ups.
 
Cricket icons Virat Kohli, M S Dhoni, and Yuvraj Singh have all come on board start-ups in the last few years. The quantum of investment by Tendulkar into Unacademy was not disclosed.
 
The investment will pave the way for Tendulkar to become a brand ambassador of Unacademy. In a conversation with Business Standard, Tendulkar said he would undertake free lessons for subscribers — who are interested in pursuing cricket as a career — on the platform.

 

Gaurav Munjal, co-founder and CEO of Unacademy, said Tendulkar would also be involved in exclusive products that the edtech firm would create. Munjal did not specify what they were, but the initiatives would be related to cricket. The first off the block would be a 135 seconds film on Tendulkar apart from other content that the platform would create around cricket.
 
“This is a deep partnership that spans many areas,” said Munjal, adding, “We are thrilled to have Sachin on board the company. The association will be mutually beneficial,” he said.
 
Both Unacademy and rival Bjyu’s have been investing in cricket as advertisers for a few years now. Bjyu’s was appointed International Cricket Council (ICC) partner for three years last week, giving it a bigger canvass across all ICC events in the world, including digital, broadcast and in-venue rights. The deal size was pegged at Rs 130 crore.

 
Last year, Unacademy was roped in as Indian Premier League (IPL) partner for three years for Rs 130 crore, giving it access to one of the top cricketing leagues in the world. The company had unsuccessfully bid for the title rights of the IPL last year after Vivo paused its sponsorship for a year. 
 
Unacademy was again in the race for the 2021 IPL sponsorship rights before Vivo returned as a title sponsor of the T20 tournament last week.
 
The domestic edtech market has become competitive, thanks to the emphasis on digital learning triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic.

 
Unacademy – backed by Facebook, Softbank and Tiger Global, among others – has been on an acquisition spree since last year with five buyouts in 2020.
 
The company announced its latest deal last week, acquiring professional networking platform TapChief at a valuation of Rs 100 crore.
 
Once a YouTube channel, Unacademy was incorporated as a company in 2015. It made its first acquisition — online study platform for government exams — WiFiStudy in 2018. It became a Unicorn in September last year.
 
The company raised money from Tiger Global and Dragoneer Investment. Its valuation was $2 billion in November 2020.