LinkedIn Learning is an American online learning provider. It provides video courses taught by industry experts in software, creative, and business skills. It is a subsidiary of

LinkedIn LinkedIn () is an American business and employment-oriented online service that operates via websites and mobile apps. Launched on May 5, 2003, the platform is primarily used for professional networking and career development, and allows job se ...

. All the courses on LinkedIn fall into four categories: Business, Creative, Technology and Certifications. It was founded in 1995 by

Lynda Weinman Lynda Susan Weinman (born January 24, 1955) is an American business owner, computer instructor, and author, who founded an online software training website, lynda.com, with her husband, Bruce Heavin. Lynda.com was acquired by online business net ...

as Lynda.com before being acquired by LinkedIn in 2015.

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

acquired LinkedIn in December 2016.

History

LinkedIn Learning was founded as Lynda.com in 1995 in

Ojai Ojai ( ; Chumash: ''’Awhaỳ'') is a city in Ventura County, California. Located in the Ojai Valley, it is northwest of Los Angeles and east of Santa Barbara. The valley is part of the east–west trending Western Transverse Ranges and is ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, as online support for the books and classes of

, a special effects animator and multimedia professor who founded a digital arts school with her husband, artist Bruce Heavin. In 2002, the company 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. In 2013, Lynda.com received its first outside investment, raising $103 million in growth

equity Equity may refer to: Finance, accounting and ownership * Equity (finance), ownership of assets that have liabilities attached to them ** Stock, equity based on original contributions of cash or other value to a business ** Home equity, the dif ...

from

Accel Partners Accel, formerly known as Accel Partners, is an American venture capital firm. Accel works with startups in seed, early and growth-stage investments. The company has offices in Palo Alto, California and San Francisco, California, with additional ...

and

Spectrum Equity Spectrum Equity is an American growth equity firm that invests in businesses related to the information economy. The company operates out of offices in Boston, MA and San Francisco, CA. The company was an early investor in Ancestry.com and Grubhu ...

, with additional contributions from

Meritech Capital Partners Meritech Capital Partners is an American Venture Firm company focused on late-stage venture capital investments in information technology companies with a focus on consumer Internet and media, software and services, enterprise infrastructure, an ...

. On January 14, 2015, Lynda.com announced it had raised $186 million in financing, led by investment group

TPG Capital TPG Inc., previously known as Texas Pacific Group and TPG Capital, is an American investment company based in Fort Worth, Texas. The private equity firm is focused on leveraged buyouts and growth capital. TPG manages investment funds in growth c ...

. On April 9, 2015,

announced its intention to buy Lynda.com in a deal valued at $1.5 billion, which officially closed on May 14, 2015. In 2016, Lynda.com began to broadcast courses on their Apple TV application. On June 13, 2016,

announced that it would acquire Lynda.com's parent company LinkedIn for $26.2 billion. The acquisition was completed on December 8, 2016. In October 2017, Lynda.com was merged and renamed ''LinkedIn Learning''. 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

librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time, ...

s and the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

. As of March 2021, libraries started migrating to LinkedIn Learning without requiring patrons to create a LinkedIn profile. On June 2, 2021, the lynda.com site was shutdown and is now permanently redirected to LinkedIn Learning.

Acquisitions

In February 2013, Lynda.com acquired video2brain, an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n-based provider of online classes in web design and programming, available in German, French, Spanish, and English. On April 7, 2014, Lynda.com purchased Canadian startup Compilr, provider of an online editor and sandbox.

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.

References

External links

* {{authority control LinkedIn American educational websites Educational technology companies of the United States Education companies established in 1995 Internet properties established in 1995 Virtual learning environments 1995 establishments in California 2015 mergers and acquisitions