IPL 2020 partner Unacademy valued at THIS amount after raising another $150 million

On August 29, i.e. just a little above three weeks before the commencement of the Indian Premier League 2020 (IPL 2020) season, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced Bengaluru-based edutech firm, Unacademy, as their official partner of the tournament. The BCCI also confirmed that their partnership will cover three seasons of the marquee T20 event. Apparently, the deal with Unacademy was signed after Indian conglomerate company Future Group pulled out as central IPL sponsors ahead of the IPL 2020 season.

Also Read | IPL 2020: BCCI Announces Edutech Firm Unacademy As The Official Partner For Three Seasons

IPL 2020: IPL sponsors Unacademy value revealed by founder Gaurav Munjal

On Wednesday, September 2, Unacademy founder Gaurav Munjal revealed his company’s valuation on Twitter. He wrote that his company recently received a funding of US$150 million from Softbank, who joined them as one of their investors alongside major names like Facebook, Blume, General Atlantic and Nexus. Munjal also wrote that Unacademy is now valued at US$1.45 billion post the funding.

Also Read | IPL 2020 Confirms New Logo After Officially Declaring Dream11 As Title Sponsors

IPL sponsors: BCCI’s announcement regarding their Unacademy IPL partnership

IPL Chairman Brijesh Patel officially announced that the board is pleased to have Unacademy as the official partner between IPL 2020 and 2022 seasons. He said that IPL is already the most-watched cricket league in the country and claimed that an Indian-based edutech company might create a huge impact on the audience watching, especially on the youth who are “seeking inspirations in their careers”.

According to InsideSport, Unacademy will pay ₹120-130 crore in total for the next 3 seasons as part of the deal. For the IPL 2020 alone, besides the ₹40 crore approximately used for sponsorship, the brand will also spend another ₹30-35 crore solely for other brand activations during the tournament, according to Exchange4Media.

After the Future Group pulled out and Dream11 was promoted as the IPL title sponsors, the BCCI was left with two empty slots for associate sponsors of the IPL 2020. With Unacademy taking the first slot, the BCCI announced on September 2 that credit card payment company CRED has joined in to take up the second slot.

Also Read | IPL 2020 Broadcasters Sign Dream11 As Co-presenting Sponsor Along With Amazon, PhonePe?

IPL 2020: IPL dates and venue announced

The IPL 2020 season is scheduled to launch on September 19 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The tournament will run till November 10 across three UAE venues. The IPL 2020 was originally intended to launch on March 29 this year with a match between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings. However, the ongoing global pandemic enforced a delay by nearly five-and-a-half-months.

Also Read | IPL 2020: SRH Name JK Lakshmi Cement As Top Sponsor, Dream11 And Jio To Partner Franchise

Image credits: Official Twitter accounts of IPL and Unacademy