Arnab Dutta joins Vedantu as COO amid leadership exits at Unacademy
Arnab Dutta, who started as COO at Vedantu in September, announced this move in a LinkedIn post on Tuesday. Before his tenure at Vedantu, he held the position of Senior Vice President at Unacademy until June.
Arnab Dutta has assumed the role of Chief Operating Officer (COO) at , following a nearly two-year tenure at another edtech unicorn, , which has recently seen a series of top-level departures.
Dutta, who started as COO at Vedantu in September, announced this move in a LinkedIn post on Tuesday. Before his tenure at Vedantu, he was Senior Vice President at Unacademy until June.
With over 15 years of experience in leadership roles, he has managed teams of more than 500 individuals, according to his LinkedIn profile. His professional journey includes roles at OYO, Jio, and Airtel.
Dutta’s departure from Unacademy came amid a series of senior-level departures, the latest of which was the exit of Chief Financial Officer Subramanian Ramachandran.
Unacademy’s Chief Operating Officer Vivek Sinha left the company in August following a three-year tenure, and in September, Abhyudaya Rana, who held the position of Vice President and Chief of Staff at the CTO’s Office at Unacademy, also left.
These leadership changes coincide with a challenging period for several edtech startups, including unicorns, as they navigate losses, staff layoffs, and financial conservation efforts amid a funding downturn.
On Tuesday, Unacademy CEO and Co-founder Gaurav Munjal claimed that the company has reduced its cash burn by 60%, ensuring a runway of over four years with its current cash reserves.
Both Unacademy and Vedantu have not yet submitted their annual financial reports for the fiscal year 2022-23 (FY23).
Unacademy reported an increased loss of Rs 2,848 crore for FY22—an 85% rise from Rs 1,537.4 crore loss in the previous fiscal year. Vedantu incurred a loss of Rs 696 crore in FY22, compared to losses of Rs 616 crore in FY21.
Just like its peers in the edtech sector, Vedantu has been going through a challenging time. The edtech firm laid off over 1,000 employees. The Vamsi Krishna-led firm has acquired a majority stake in Deeksha (Ace Creative Learning) at a deal size of $40 million to strengthen its offline presence.
According to Vedantu's new COO, the edtech firm is now hiring across key roles for its expansion plans.
Vedantu, founded by Krishna, Anand Prakash, and Pulkit Jain in 2014, became a unicorn in 2021 after raising $100 million in its Series E round led by Singapore-based ABC World Asia. The edtech unicorn has raised a total of $328 million in over 20 rounds, according to Tracxn.
Edited by Affirunisa Kankudti