India’s technology M&A market is revealing two sharply different stories: AI-native startups attracting rapid strategic acquisitions while once highly valued digital businesses consolidate at dramatically lower valuations.
Key Highlights
1. Adobe acquires Rilo within a year of its founding.
2. AI talent and IP are driving faster strategic exits.
3. upGrad acquires Unacademy for about $206 million.
4. Unacademy’s valuation falls ~94% from its 2021 peak.
5. India’s M&A market is resetting: AI innovation commands attention while legacy digital valuations face reality checks.
Adobe’s acquisition of Rilo illustrates the speed of the AI opportunity. Founded in September 2025 by IIT Bombay batchmates Dhruv Jaglan and Georgi Boby, Rilo developed AI agents capable of executing marketing and go-to-market workflows through natural-language instructions.
The six-member startup evolved its technology toward “AI employees” that could support competitive intelligence, prospecting and campaign research. Less than a year after its launch, Adobe acquired Rilo’s team and technology through a licensing-and-talent transaction. Financial terms were undisclosed.
Rilo had reportedly raised only $1 million at a $10 million valuation. The acquisition demonstrates how specialised AI talent, intellectual property and agentic capabilities can become strategically valuable long before a startup reaches significant scale.
At the other end of the spectrum, upGrad’s approximately $206 million all-stock acquisition of Unacademy represents consolidation following the pandemic-era edtech boom.
The transaction values Unacademy roughly 94% below its $3.44 billion peak valuation in 2021. CEO Gaurav Munjal acknowledged the substantial valuation decline while maintaining that the transaction was not a distress sale, pointing to Unacademy’s cash position, revenue and improving business economics.
Together, the deals underline a changing technology market: investors and acquirers are increasingly rewarding AI capability, specialised talent and strategic technology, while established digital businesses face greater pressure to demonstrate sustainable growth and profitability.
