Abha Maheshwari, former Meta executive and CEO of Allen Digital, has stepped down after two years leading the edtech arm of Allen Career Institute. She announced her departure in a social media post, saying she will take a short break before exploring her next opportunity.
“When I first joined, we were a small team of 15 to 20 working out of a WeWork—scrappy, ambitious, and committed to building something meaningful. Two years later, I leave behind a buzzing office filled with passionate people, bold ideas, and the same deep sense of purpose, now backed by a much larger and stronger team,” Maheshwari wrote.
Maheshwari joined Allen in April 2022, soon after the institute set up Allen Digital—a wholly owned subsidiary aimed at competing with India’s multi-billion-dollar edtech giants. The launch came a month after Allen raised $600 million (₹4,500 crore) from Bodhi Tree Systems, the investment vehicle of James Murdoch and Uday Shankar.
Under her leadership, Allen Digital:
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Acquired AI-powered doubt-solving platform Doubtnut in a slump sale (valued around $10M)
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Was reportedly in early-stage talks to acquire Unacademy at a discounted ~$800M valuation (publicly denied by Unacademy CEO Gaurav Munjal)
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Built a digital-first edtech model anchored in learning outcomes, AI-powered learning, and offline–online integration
“For FY24, the company’s revenue grew 42% YoY to ₹3,244.7 crore, driven by strong offline enrolments and a growing digital footprint. However, profit fell 44% to ₹136 crore during the same period.
Reflecting on her tenure, Maheshwari said: “Together, we built a digital-first edtech business anchored in learning outcomes. We launched transformative technology, scaled rapidly, and made a real difference in the lives of students.”
By: Arushi Agarwal
