Edtech unicorn Unacademy has spun off the non-profit coding platform CodeChef, which it acquired in 2020 for an undisclosed amount. 

“Starting April, CodeChef will be an independent company owned and run by the current team and will not be under the umbrella of any other organisation. With a one-time investment from Unacademy, we are starting a new chapter in our journey,” the company said in a Twitter thread on March 28. 

The thread added that CodeChef has never really focused on financial viability in the past, but being supported by Directi and Unacademy allowed it to continue operations without worrying about the financials. “But recently, due to the larger global economic slowdown, it has become clear that this cannot continue, and we need to find ways to sustain ourselves,” the coding platform noted. 

CodeChef added that these are exciting times for developments in AI. “We hope to become a more holistic learning platform for students of computer science, to gather and experience the joys of learning,” the platform said.

Till the company’s finances improve, CodeChef will cut back on its costs and has paused some of its offerings such as Cook-Offs, Lunchtimes, and Long contests for the time being. “We’d like to thank Directi and Unacademy for their support over the years, and we hope to continue serving the amazing community in more ways going forward,” the coding platform added. 

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Responding to CodeChef’s announcement, Unacademy founder Gaurav Munjal said, “CodeChef will run independently moving forth. I am confident in the team’s ability to make CodeChef 10x bigger.” Unacademy will continue to hold 30 per cent stake in the company as an investor and has also infused an initial capital that will help it function for the next 12-18 months.

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