Company:LinkedIn Learning

From HandWiki
Short description: Online education company
LinkedIn Learning
FormerlyLynda.com (1995-2017)
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryE-learning
Founded1995; 29 years ago (1995)
Founders
  • Lynda Weinman
  • Bruce Heavin
Services
  • Online education
  • Online publishing
OwnerMicrosoft
ParentLinkedIn
Websitewww.linkedin.com/learning/
Footnotes / references
[1]

LinkedIn Learning is an American online learning platform. It provides video courses taught by industry experts in software, creative, and business skills. It is a subsidiary of LinkedIn. All the courses on LinkedIn fall into four categories: Business, Creative, Technology, and Certifications.

It was founded in 1995 by Lynda Weinman as Lynda.com before being acquired by LinkedIn in 2015 and becoming LinkedIn Learning.[2] Microsoft acquired LinkedIn in December 2016.[3]

History

LinkedIn Learning was founded as Lynda.com 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.[4]

In 2002, the company began offering courses online.[5] By 2004, there were 100 courses, and in 2008, the company began producing and publishing documentaries on creative leaders, artists, and entrepreneurs.[6]

In 2013, Lynda.com received its first outside investment, raising $103 million (~$114 million in 2019) in growth equity from Accel Partners and Spectrum Equity, with additional contributions from Meritech Capital Partners.[7] On January 14, 2015, Lynda.com announced it had raised $186 million (~$200 million in 2019) in financing, led by investment group TPG Capital.[8]

On April 9, 2015, LinkedIn announced its intention to buy Lynda.com in a deal valued at $1.5 billion, which officially closed on May 14, 2015.[9]

In 2016, Lynda.com began to broadcast courses on their Apple TV application.[10]

On June 13, 2016, Microsoft announced that it would acquire Lynda.com's parent company LinkedIn for $26.2 billion (~$27.8 billion in 2019). The acquisition was completed on December 8, 2016.[11][12][13]

In October 2017, Lynda.com was merged and renamed LinkedIn Learning.[14] In 2019, the site announced that users accessing LinkedIn Learning through their public library would be required to create a LinkedIn profile in order to use the service; the decision faced criticism from librarians and the American Library Association.[15][16][17] As of March 2021, libraries started migrating to LinkedIn Learning without requiring patrons to create a LinkedIn profile.[18]

On June 2, 2021, the lynda.com site was shutdown and is now permanently redirected to LinkedIn Learning.[19]

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.[20]

On April 7, 2014, Lynda.com purchased Canadian startup Compilr, provider of an online editor and sandbox.[21]

Service details

LinkedIn Learning is a subscription service that costs $40/month or $25/month if paid annually (as of 2021). It has a catalog of 16,000+ courses and learning paths.[19]

References

  1. "Lynda.com Lands $103 Million in Biggest Education Financing". Bloomberg News. 2013-01-16. http://go.bloomberg.com/tech-deals/2013-01-16-lynda-com-lands-103-million-in-biggest-education-financing/. 
  2. Larson, Selena (2013-12-03). "Lynda.com Founder: I Was Educating Online Before Online Education Was Cool" (in en-US). https://readwrite.com/2013/12/03/lynda-weinman-online-education-builders/. 
  3. "LinkedIn CEO: Here's Why I Sold the Company to Microsoft" (in en). Time.com. https://time.com/4366106/linkedin-microsoft-why/. 
  4. Roush, Wade (2013-03-28). "Knowledge When You Need It: Lynda.com and the Rise of Online Education". Xconomy. http://www.xconomy.com/national/2013/03/28/knowledge-when-you-need-it-lynda-com-and-the-rise-of-online-education/?single_page=true. 
  5. Singel, Ryan (2011-06-17). "A Paywall That Pays Off: How Lynda.com Broke All the Rules and Won". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. https://www.wired.com/2011/06/lynda/. Retrieved 2019-02-06. 
  6. Meyer, Stephen J. (2015-05-12). "LinkedIn's Blockbuster Deal With Lynda.com: What It Means To The Online Learning Industry" (in en). Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevemeyer/2015/05/12/linkedins-blockbuster-deal-with-lynda-com-what-it-means-to-the-online-learning-industry/3/#. 
  7. Empson, Rip (2013-01-15). "After 17 Years, Education Platform Lynda.com Raises Its First Round of Funding, $103M From Accel & Spectrum". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2013/01/15/after-17-years-education-platform-lynda-com-raises-its-first-round-of-funding-103m-from-accel-spectrum/. 
  8. Singer, Natasha (2015-01-14). "Investors Put $186 Million Into Lynda.com, an Online Tutorial Service" (in en-US). https://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/14/investors-put-186-million-into-lynda-com-an-online-tutorial-service/. 
  9. Roslansky, Ryan (2015-04-09). "Welcome to the LinkedIn Family, lynda.com" (in en-us). https://blog.linkedin.com/2015/04/09/lynda-joins-linkedin. 
  10. Yeung, Ken (2016-04-21). "LinkedIn makes all Lynda.com courses available on Apple TV" (in en-US). https://venturebeat.com/2016/04/21/linkedin-makes-all-lynda-com-courses-available-on-apple-tv/. 
  11. "Microsoft to acquire LinkedIn | News Center" (Press release). Microsoft. June 13, 2016. Retrieved 2016-06-13. Microsoft Corp. and LinkedIn Corporation on Monday announced they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Microsoft will acquire LinkedIn for $16 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at $26.2 billion, inclusive of LinkedIn’s net cash.
  12. Greene, Jay (2016-06-14). "Microsoft to Acquire LinkedIn for $26.2 Billion" (in en-US). Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. https://www.wsj.com/articles/microsoft-to-acquire-linkedin-in-deal-valued-at-26-2-billion-1465821523. 
  13. Weiner, Jeff (2016-12-08). "LinkedIn + Microsoft: Our Next Play Begins". LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/linkedin-microsoft-our-next-play-begins-jeff-weiner. 
  14. "Upgrading from Lynda.com to LinkedIn Learning". 2017-10-20. https://www.lynda.com/Business-tutorials/Upgrading-from-Lynda-com-LinkedIn-Learning/675718-2.html. 
  15. Foley, Mary Jo (August 22, 2019). "Microsoft is moving Lynda.com users to LinkedIn Learning and not everyone's happy about it" (in en). https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-is-moving-lynda-com-users-to-linkedin-learning-and-not-everyones-happy-about-it/. 
  16. Cimpanu, Catalin (July 23, 2019). "American Library Association blasts LinkedIn for intrusive ToS changes". https://www.zdnet.com/article/american-library-association-blasts-linkedin-for-intrusive-tos-changes/. 
  17. Elias, Jennifer (28 August 2019). "Why librarians are up in arms against LinkedIn". https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/28/linkedin-change-to-learning-tools-registration-upsets-librarians.html. 
  18. "LinkedIn Learning for Library – Patron FAQ" (in en). https://www.linkedin.com/help/learning/answer/107121/linkedin-learning-for-library-patron-faq?lang=en. 
  19. 19.0 19.1 Shah, Dhawal (2021-07-12). "LinkedIn Sunsets Lynda.com and Fully Transitions to LinkedIn Learning" (in en-US). https://www.classcentral.com/report/lynda-shutdowns/. 
  20. Heussner, Ki Mae (2013-02-13). "Flush with cash, lynda.com buys European online learning site video2brain" (in en-US). https://gigaom.com/2013/02/13/flush-with-cash-lynda-com-buys-european-online-learning-site-video2brain/. 
  21. Lunden, Ingrid (2014-04-07). "E-Learning Platform Buys Compilr To Add In-Browser Coding Tools, Price Around $20M". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2014/04/07/e-learning-platform-lynda-com-buys-compilr-to-add-in-browser-coding-tools-price-around-20m/. 

External links