Software:Instructure

From HandWiki
Instructure Holdings, Inc.
TypePrivate
IndustryEducational Technology
Learning Management Systems
Assessment Management Systems
Assessment
Founded2008; 18 years ago (2008)
FounderBrian Whitmer and Devlin Daley
Headquarters
Salt Lake City, Utah
,
United States
Number of locations
7
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
  • Steve Daly
  • (CEO)
Products
  • Canvas
  • Catalog
  • Studio
  • Portfolium
  • MasteryConnect
  • Videri
  • CASE Benchmarks and Item Bank
  • Navigate Item Bank
  • Academic Benchmarks
  • Certify
  • DataConnect
  • Program Assessment
  • Pathways
  • Canvas for Corporate Education
Revenue$530.2 million (2023)[1]
Owner
  • KKR
  • Dragoneer
[2]
Number of employees
1,466 (2022)[3]
Websiteinstructure.com
Canvas
The software's logo
The software's logo
Developer(s)Instructure
Repositorygithub.com/instructure/canvas-lms
Written inRuby on Rails
License
[4]
Websiteinstructure.com/canvas

Instructure Holdings, Inc. is an educational technology company based in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It is the developer and publisher of Canvas, a web-based learning management system.

History

The company was founded in 2008 by two BYU graduate students, Brian Whitmer and Devlin Daley.[5] Its initial funding came from Mozy founder Josh Coates, who served as Instructure's CEO from 2010 to 2018 and chairman of the board through 2020.[6]

In December 2010, the Utah Education Network (UEN), a representative of some Utah colleges and universities, announced that Instructure would be replacing Blackboard.[7] By 2013, the company's customer base had increased to at least 9 million users.[8]

In 2011, Instructure launched Canvas, a learning management system.[9] The company announced that Canvas would be made freely available under an Affero General Public License (AGPL) license as open-source software. However, the company continued to sell Canvas management as a service.[10][11][12] Canvas became available on iOS in 2011, and on Android in 2013.[13]

In 2015, Instructure launched Bridge, a cloud-based corporate learning management system.[14] It was acquired by Learning Technologies Group (LTG) in 2021.[15]

As of 2015, the company had raised $90 million in funding from investors.[16] On November 13, 2015, the firm began trading as a publicly held company on the New York Stock Exchange.[17]

In 2017, the company acquired Philadelphia-based video learning startup Practice XYZ, formerly known as ApprenNet, and merged the offerings into its own products.[18][19]

In 2020, Thoma Bravo acquired the company for $2 billion.[20] As of 2020, Canvas was used in approximately 4,000 institutions worldwide.[21] In June 2021, Instructure again filed for an IPO,[22] and began trading under the symbol INST.[23]

In 2024, it was announced that KKR and Dragoneer had completed their $4.8 billion purchase of the company.[2]

Later in 2024, Instructure announced the acquisition of Parchment, a credential management platform.[24]

2026 Canvas security breach

In late April 2026, Canvas LMS experienced a security breach, with an outage following in early May.[25][26]The hack is considered the largest educational security breach on record due to its unprecedented global scale, affecting 8,809 universities, educational ministries, and other institutions worldwide.[27] Instructure disclosed that it was investigating a cybersecurity attack involving certain user data, including names, email addresses, student ID numbers, and messages amongst users.[26] The company claimed it had found no evidence that passwords, birth dates, government IDs, or financial information were involved in the hacking.[28] However, other sources indicate that this cybersecurity attack has put 275 million[29] students and teachers data at risk.[30][31][32]

Despite Instructure's claim that the situation had been resolved, on May 7th, Canvas was hacked again; its login page was replaced with a ransomware message by ShinyHunters, the criminal hacking group that claimed responsibility. ShinyHunters threatened to release Canvas's sensitive data unless its ransom was paid by the end of May 12.[33][34]

404 Media stated this was the largest educational security breach ever on record.[35] ShinyHunters claimed to have stolen 3.65 terabytes of data (approximately 275 million records).[36]

By May 8, seven lawsuits in federal courts had been filed against Instructure, including one that also named KKR as a defendant.[37] On May 13, a California-specific proposed class action lawsuit was filed by a San Diego resident against Instructure in the Southern District of California, alleging the breach of personally identifiable information.[38][39][40]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Instructure Company Profile". Craft. https://craft.co/instructure. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "KKR and Dragoneer complete $4.8bn take-private acquisition of edtech firm Instructure" (in en). PE Hub. 14 November 2024. https://www.pehub.com/kkr-and-dragoneer-complete-4-8bn-take-private-acquisition-of-edtech-firm-instructure/. 
  3. ↑ "Instructure 2022 Annual Report". https://s28.q4cdn.com/381552498/files/doc_financials/annual/2022/INST-2022-10-K-wrap-eBook.pdf. 
  4. ↑ "FAQ" (in en). Instructure. May 19, 2020. https://github.com/instructure/canvas-lms/wiki/FAQ. 
  5. ↑ Kim, Joshua. "An Instructure Canvas LMS Timeline" (in en). https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/technology-and-learning/instructure-canvas-lms-timeline. 
  6. ↑ Neely, Karissa. "Instructure CEO change, Survey shows affordable housing concern, Powerful U Experience event". https://www.heraldextra.com/business/local/instructure-ceo-change-survey-shows-affordable-housing-concern-powerful-u/article_756e5fc3-af52-5db4-b1fb-36c50deaba9b.html. 
  7. ↑ "New Statewide Learning Management System Selected". UEN News. Utah Education Network. December 14, 2010. http://www.uen.org/news/article.php?id=190. 
  8. ↑ Empson, Rip (November 2012). "With 4.5M Users, Instructure Takes On The Courseras & Udacities Of The World With Its Own Open Course Network". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2012/10/31/instructure-canvas-network/. 
  9. ↑ Tate, Emily (2018-07-16). "How Canvas came to unseat Blackboard as the leading LMS" (in en-US). https://edscoop.com/how-canvas-came-to-unseat-blackboard-as-the-leading-lms/. 
  10. ↑ Michael Arrington (January 31, 2011). "Instructure Launches To Root Blackboard Out Of Universities". TechCrunch.com. Interserve dba TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2011/01/31/instructure-blackboard-universities-coates/. 
  11. ↑ Josh Keller (January 31, 2011). "Upstart Course-Management Provider Goes Open Source". Wired Campus. The Chronicle of Higher Education. http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/upstart-course-management-provider-goes-open-source/29391. 
  12. ↑ Christopher Dawson (February 1, 2011). "There are alternatives to Blackboard and Moodle: Instructure Canvas goes open source". ZDNet Education. CBS Interactive. http://www.zdnet.com/blog/education/there-are-alternatives-to-blackboard-and-moodle-instructure-canvas-goes-open-source/4475. 
  13. ↑ "Instructure Releases Canvas for Android". https://www.instructure.com. 
  14. ↑ Buhr, Sarah (2015-02-18). "On The Way To An IPO, Education Technology Startup Instructure Is Close To Raising A Big New Round". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2015/02/18/on-the-way-to-an-ipo-education-technology-startup-instructure-is-close-to-raising-a-big-new-round/. 
  15. ↑ "Behind the Deal: Why LTG acquired Bridge" (in en-US). 2021-06-28. https://www.ltgplc.com/news/behind-the-deal-why-ltg-acquired-bridge/. 
  16. ↑ Locke, Charley (2015-02-24). "Instructure Plots Path to IPO, Corporate Customers After $40M Series E". Edsurge. https://www.edsurge.com/n/2015-02-24-headed-for-ipo-and-corporate-users-instructure-s-next-move. 
  17. ↑ Schaffler, Rhonda (2015-11-13). "Instructure IPO Debuts on NYSE With Double-Digit Gain". TheStreet. http://www.thestreet.com/story/13365356/1/instructure-ipo-debuts-on-nyse-with-double-digit-gain.html. 
  18. ↑ "Practice got acquired by Instructure. Here are the details". Technical.ly. November 29, 2017. https://technical.ly/startups/practice-instructure-acquisition/. 
  19. ↑ "We're Talkin' About Practice: Instructure Acquires Video-Based Learning Platform". Ed Surge. December 2, 2017. https://www.edsurge.com/news/2017-12-02-we-talkin-about-practice-instructure-acquires-video-based-learning-platform. 
  20. ↑ "Instructure files for U.S. IPO after 2020 take-private deal with Thoma Bravo" (in en-US). Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/technology/thoma-bravo-backed-instructure-files-us-ipo-2021-06-28/. 
  21. ↑ "Why Colleges and Universities Are Adopting Canvas". 2018-10-24. https://news.elearninginside.com/why-colleges-and-universities-are-adopting-canvas/. 
  22. ↑ Bamforth, Emily (28 June 2021). "Instructure, creator of Canvas, files for initial public offering". Scoop News Group. https://edscoop.com/instructure-canvas-initial-public-offering/. 
  23. ↑ Saleh Rauf, David (4 July 2021). "Another Education Company Goes Public: Instructure IPO Gives Ed-Tech Firm $2.9 Billion Valuation". https://marketbrief.edweek.org/marketplace-k-12/another-education-company-goes-public-instructure-ipo-gives-ed-tech-firm-2-9-billion-valuation/. 
  24. ↑ "KKR to take edu-tech firm Instructure private for $4.8 billion". July 25, 2024. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/kkr-take-edu-tech-firm-instructure-private-48-billion-2024-07-25/. 
  25. ↑ Kaleem, Jaweed (2026-05-08). "Massive Canvas data breach hits colleges across California and nation, crippling student work" (in en-US). https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-05-07/canvas-data-breach-california-colleges-uc-ucla-berkeley-csu-laccd. 
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 "Security incident update & FAQs". https://www.instructure.com/incident_update. 
  27. ↑ Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report (2026-05-10). "School app Canvas breach hits during finals" (in en-US). https://www.foxnews.com/tech/school-app-canvas-breach-hits-during-finals. 
  28. ↑ "Canvas data breach leaves education providers scrambling as student data compromised". ABC News. May 7, 2026. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05-07/canvas-data-breach-instructure/106651234. 
  29. ↑ "Instructure Canvas Breach: ShinyHunters Stole 275 Million Student Records — Twice" (in en). 2026-05-07. https://compliancehub.wiki/instructure-canvas-breach-shinyhunters-2026/. 
  30. ↑ Langreo, Lauraine; Prothero, Arianna (2026-05-08). "A Cyberattack on Canvas Could Cause Lasting Aftershocks for Schools" (in en). Education Week. ISSN 0277-4232. https://www.edweek.org/technology/a-cyberattack-on-canvas-could-cause-lasting-aftershocks-for-schools/2026/05. 
  31. ↑ Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report (2026-05-10). "School app Canvas breach hits during finals" (in en-US). https://www.foxnews.com/tech/school-app-canvas-breach-hits-during-finals. 
  32. ↑ Treisman, Rachel (2026-05-08). "Canvas is back online, but questions — and final exam disruptions — linger" (in en). NPR. https://www.npr.org/2026/05/08/nx-s1-5815956/canvas-data-breach-school-finals. 
  33. ↑ Hollingsworth, Heather (May 7, 2026). "Cyberattack hits Canvas system used by thousands of schools as finals loom". Associated Press. https://apnews.com/article/cyberattack-schools-canvas-instructure-shinyhunters-a0d7719689263e6b5f90d0e633391b5b. 
  34. ↑ Halbleib, Brady (May 7, 2026). "Sacramento State caught in nationwide cyberattack targeting online learning platform". CBS Sacramento. https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/sacramento-state-nationwide-cyberattack-online-learning-platform/. 
  35. ↑ Koebler, Jason (8 May 2026). "'The Biggest Student Data Privacy Disaster in History': Canvas Hack Shows the Danger of Centralized EdTech" (in en). 404 Media. https://www.404media.co/the-biggest-student-data-privacy-disaster-in-history-canvas-hack-shows-the-danger-of-centralized-edtech/. 
  36. ↑ Mousqueton, Julien. "Victim: Instructure Holdings, Inc. (Canvas LMS, instructure.com) – shinyhunters" (in en). https://www.ransomware.live/id/SW5zdHJ1Y3R1cmUgSG9sZGluZ3MsIEluYy4gKENhbnZhIExNUywgaW5zdHJ1Y3R1cmUuY29tKUBzaGlueWh1bnRlcnM. 
  37. ↑ Umanah, Ufonobong (2026-05-08). "KKR, Instructure Sued After Canvas EdTech Tool Data Breach (1)". Bloomberg Law (Bloomberg L.P.). https://news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/kkr-instructure-sued-after-data-breach-of-canvas-edtech-tool. 
  38. ↑ Potterhandy. "Instructure Data Breach Lawsuit" (in en). https://potterhandy.com/instructure-data-breach-lawsuit/. 
  39. ↑ Service • •, City News (2026-05-13). "Lawsuit filed in San Diego vs. Canvas developer following cyberattack" (in en-US). https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/lawsuit-filed-san-diego-vs-canvas-developer-following-cyberattack/4023409/. 
  40. ↑ "Instructure Data Breach Confirmed, Attorneys Investigating" (in en). 2026-05-05. https://www.classaction.org/data-breach-lawsuits/instructure-may-2026. 



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