Unacademy launches AI editor that calls BYJU’S ‘best edtech start-up in India’

Edtech unicorn Unacademy, which has been in the news for laying off ~1,350 employees in the last 12-15 months, has launched an artificial intelligence (AI) content editor that allows users to  “create, refine, edit, and publish” their work with ease. The AI editor is powered by Cohesive, an erstwhile SaaS product which Unacademy had launched last year as an ‘experiment’. 

Cohesive AI comes with an intuitive interface that allows users to edit text, add AI-generated images, and translate content in over 6 languages. It also enables real-time collaboration and helps in streamlining teamwork. Unacademy claims that more than 20,000 users globally have already tried Cohesive AI.

Hemesh Singh, Co-Founder and CTO, Unacademy, shared, “With Cohesive AI, we are taking a step in the direction to transform the way content is created, optimized and shared. Cohesive AI is a powerful, intuitive AI editor that will craft superior content that is not only limited to text but also includes visuals. The future of generative AI is bright and we are proud to be at the forefront of this journey to bring its power to enhance and simplify content creation to the world.”

However, when put to use, Cohesive AI identified Unacademy’s archrival BYJU’S as the “best edtech start-up in India” that has “revolutionised the way students learn”. Both companies, incidentally, are rumoured to have held merger talks amidst their struggles to generate positive cashflows in a heavily beleaguered edtech sector. Over the last few months, Bengaluru-based Unacademy has shifted focus to offline learning centres, following the lacklustre demand in online learning as the pandemic impact started to wane. 

Earlier this week, Unacademy Co-founder and CEO, Gaurav Munjal even posted a cryptic tweet which said “Online + Offline” and carried a photo of Unacademy-BYJU’S billboards. “Market challenges have forced us to re-evaluate our decisions. Funding has significantly slowed down and a large portion of our core business has moved offline,” Munjal wrote in an internal memo, while announcing layoffs last year.