Lynda.com
 | |
| Private | |
| Industry |
Online services Online education Online publishing Online training |
| Founded | 1995 |
| Headquarters | Carpinteria, California, US |
Key people | Eric Robison, CEO |
| Products | Online Training Library |
| Revenue | US$100 million (2013)[1] |
| Owner |
Lynda Weinman, Cofounder Bruce Heavin, Cofounder Accel Partners Spectrum Equity Meritech Capital Partners [1] |
Number of employees | 500+ (2014) |
| Website | lynda.com |
Lynda.com is a privately held online education company offering thousands of video courses in software, creative and business skills. Founded in 1995,[2] the company produces video tutorials taught by industry experts. Members have unlimited access to watch the videos, which are primarily educational.
On April 9th, 2015, LinkedIn announced its purchase of Lynda.com for $1.5 billion.[3][4] Based in Carpinteria, California, Lynda.com has more than 500 employees worldwide, and offers instruction in German, French and Spanish through its branded division, video2brain.
History
Lynda.com was founded in 1995 in Ojai, California as online support for the books and classes of Lynda Weinman, a special effects animator and multimedia professor who founded a digital arts school with her husband, artist Bruce Heavin.[5]
In 2002, they began offering courses online. By 2004, there were 100 courses, and in 2008, the company began producing and publishing documentaries on creative leaders, artists and entrepreneurs.
On April 9, 2015 LinkedIn Corp. announced to buy online business learning company Lynda.com in a deal valued at $1.5 billion.
Venture funding
In 2013, Lynda.com received its very first outside investment, raising $103 million in growth equity from Accel Partners and Spectrum Equity, with additional contributions from Meritech Capital Partners.[6]
On January 14, 2015, Lynda.com announced it had raised $186 million in financing, led by investment group TPG Capital.[7]
Acquisitions
In February, 2013, Lynda.com acquired video2brain, an Austrian-based provider of online classes in web design and programming, available in German, French, Spanish, and English languages.[8]
On April 7, 2014, Lynda.com purchased Canadian startup Compilr, provider of an online editor and sandbox.[9]
On April 9, 2015 Lynda.com was acquired by LinkedIn.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Lynda.com Lands $103 Million in Biggest Education Financing". Bloomberg. 2013-01-16. Retrieved 2014-02-22.
- ↑ "Lynda.com Founder: I Was Educating Online Before Online Education Was Cool – ReadWrite". ReadWrite. Retrieved 2014-02-22.
- ↑ Etherington, Darrell (2015-04-09). "LinkedIn To Buy Online Education Site Lynda.com For $1.5 Billion". TechCrunch.
- ↑ Sawers, Paul (2015-04-09). "LinkedIn acquires online education company Lynda.com for $1.5B to help progress your career". VentureBeat.
- ↑ Roush, Wade (2013-03-28). "Knowledge When You Need It: Lynda.com and the Rise of Online Education". Xconomy.
- ↑ Empson, Rip (2013-01-15). "After 17 Years, Education Platform Lynda.com Raises Its First Round of Funding, $103M From Accel & Spectrum". Tech Crunch.
- ↑ Singer, Natasha (2015-01-14). "Investors Put $186 Million Into Lynda.com, an Online Tutorial Service". The New York Times.
- ↑ Heussner, Ki Mae (2013-02-13). "Flush with cash, Lynda.com buys European online learning site video2brain". Gigaom.
- ↑ Lunden, Ingrid (2014-04-07). "E-Learning Platform Lynda.com Buys Compilr To Add In-Browser Coding Tools, Price Around $20M - TechCrunch". TechCrunch.