Unacademy: YouTubers from India Who Built a $3B Startup in the US

In this episode, we talk to Gaurav Munjal and Roman Saini, the founders of Unacademy — a $3B edtech giant that started as a simple YouTube channel. They share how they scaled to 100+ channels, built an AI-powered English learning app disrupting the industry, and grew without spending on ads. We dive into the highs and lows: layoffs, panic attacks, going public, and what it really takes to build a billion-dollar startup in the age of AI.

00:00 – Teaser

00:42 – From YouTube blog to $3B edtech unicorn

02:35 – Why they focused on YouTube for education

06:20 – How their AI app is disrupting Duolingo in just one year

09:20 – The depressing phase: no sleep and panic attacks

10:17 – How they earned $2M/year with zero ad spend

11:35 – IPO prep while losing $150M/year?

13:33 – Did they consider shutting down?

14:19 – Men don’t talk about it

16:02 – Are they replacing teachers with AI?

19:14 – How they started

21:52 – Decline in viewership when Roman stopped posting; 1000 teachers creating instead

22:40 – Netflix for education: managing 100+ channels

23:55 – How much it costs to run a single YouTube channel

25:42 – Their marketing strategy

26:50 – Why videos now get only 200–300 views

28:00 – Laid off teachers

29:27 – Advice for YouTubes

30:12 – Leave your ego behind: let others do the work too

31:35 – Moving to the U.S.

33:50 – What will happen in 5 years with AI

34:50 – Advice for first-time founders in 2025