Cracked AIIMS entrance at 16, became IAS officer at 22, but resigned after few months to build Rs 260000000000 company, his name is…
Unacademy is considered to be India’s largest online learning platform. It provides various courses and exam preparation materials, catering to various competitive exams such as UPSC, IIT-JEE, NEET, SSC, CAT, CA Intermediate, and more. However, many people don’t know about the success story of its co-founder, Roman Saini. Tackling India’s most demanding exams is a daunting task, yet Roman accomplished it at an impressively young age. At just 16, he secured admission through the AIIMS entrance exam, and by 22, he had cleared the prestigious UPSC Civil Services exam.
Gifted with a sharp intellect from an early age, Roman successfully cleared the highly competitive AIIMS medical entrance exam at just 16 and completed his MBBS. But rather than following the conventional path of a medical career, he set his sights on an even greater challenge—the UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE)—and achieved the remarkable feat of becoming an IAS officer.
Originally from Rajasthan, Roman Saini grew up in a household where his father worked as an engineer and his mother managed the home. By the age of 18, he was already contributing at the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC). Yet, his ambitions stretched well beyond the boundaries of medicine.
Cracked AIIMS entrance at 16, became IAS officer at 22, but resigned after few months to build Rs 260000000000 company, his name is…
According to a news report by DNA, Roman Saini explained in a past interview why he chose to pursue a career as an IAS officer. He added, “I was pursuing my MBBS and was posted in Haryana’s Dayalpur village. I saw how people were deprived of basic facilities. That’s when I decided to serve the nation.” Additionally, he even served as a district collector in Madhya Pradesh.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Roman Saini studied Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (M.B.B.S.), Medicine at All India Institute of Medical Sciences(AIIMS), New Delhi. In 2014, he worked as a Junior Resident at AIIMS, New Delhi.
In 2015, Roman Saini made a courageous decision to leave the civil services and venture into entrepreneurship. Teaming up with Gaurav Munjal and Hemesh Singh, he co-founded Unacademy under the parent company, Sorting Hat Technologies. Driven by a vision to make quality education accessible to all, he focused particularly on empowering UPSC aspirants through innovative and inclusive learning solutions.
Over the past 5–6 years, Unacademy has emerged as one of India’s leading ed-tech platforms. Roman Saini—a doctor and former IAS officer—whose vision helped grow the company into a Rs 26,000 crore enterprise. Through its innovative methods, Unacademy has revolutionized UPSC preparation, making top-notch educational content widely accessible and affordable, particularly through platforms like YouTube. As per media reports, in 2022, CEO Gaurav Munjal received a compensation of Rs 1.58 crore, Hemesh Singh earned Rs 1.19 crore, and Roman Saini was paid Rs 88 lakh.
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