Udemy
A global online learning marketplace and enterprise training platform built around on-demand courses and skills development.
Last updated August 21, 2026
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Overview
Udemy is a United States-based education-technology company whose platform enables instructors, subject-matter experts, and organizations to create, publish, distribute, and consume online learning content. Its course catalog spans business, technology, software, personal development, health and fitness, music, academics, and other practical subjects. Most courses are delivered on demand through recorded video, supplemented by quizzes, exercises, downloadable resources, and other instructional materials. Courses may be free or paid, with instructors generally participating in the commercial economics of the marketplace. The company traces its origins to a live virtual-classroom product developed in Turkey in 2007 by Eren Bali and Oktay Caglar. After moving to Silicon Valley, Bali and Caglar joined Gagan Biyani to establish Udemy in 2010. The founders initially faced substantial difficulty raising venture capital and reportedly received numerous rejections before launching the platform in May 2010. Early adoption came from instructors who uploaded courses across a broad range of subjects, helping Udemy develop a marketplace model rather than a narrowly curated academic curriculum. Udemy's consumer proposition is breadth, flexibility, and relatively accessible pricing. Learners can select individual courses, use mobile applications, and study at their own pace. This model differentiates Udemy from institutions that primarily offer formal degrees or tightly structured cohorts. At the same time, the company has built Udemy Business, a subscription-oriented enterprise offering intended to help employers provide workforce training, technical education, and professional development. Enterprise customers can use catalog content and administrative features to support organizational learning programs. The company has expanded internationally through localized content, global operations, and offices in several countries, including the United States, Australia, India, Ireland, Mexico, and Turkey. Its applications have supported iOS, Android, and other connected-device experiences. More recently, Udemy has incorporated artificial-intelligence features, including an AI Assistant and skills-mapping capabilities, and has pursued ways to connect training content with enterprise workflows. In 2025 it acquired Lummi, an image-generation tool, with the stated aim of helping instructors incorporate AI-generated visual material into courses. Udemy became a publicly traded company in the United States in October 2021 under the ticker UDMY. Its development has included significant venture funding and continuing investment in content, technology, international expansion, and enterprise sales. The company has also faced criticism concerning content piracy and the economic treatment of instructors. Leadership changed several times after the IPO, including the succession from Gregg Coccari to Greg Brown and the later appointment of Hugo Sarrazin as chief executive. By 2025, Udemy was also reported to have introduced Arabic-language access and to have recorded its first positive net income since the IPO. In December 2025, Coursera agreed to acquire Udemy in an equity transaction, subject to the applicable transaction conditions and closing process.
History
Udemy's earliest predecessor was a live virtual-classroom system created in 2007 by Eren Bali and Oktay Caglar while they were living in Turkey. The founders later moved to Silicon Valley and joined with Gagan Biyani to form Udemy in early 2010. Their initial fundraising effort was unsuccessful, with Biyani later describing repeated venture-capital rejections. The team therefore bootstrapped the product and launched the service in May 2010. The platform quickly adopted a marketplace structure in which independent instructors could upload and sell courses rather than relying only on centrally produced lessons. Within months, approximately 1,000 instructors had created about 2,000 courses. Udemy raised its first reported venture funding in 2010 and subsequently attracted additional investors, including Tencent Holdings. The service was initially discussed in the context of massive open online courses, but its broad catalog, instructor-led publishing model, and paid-course marketplace gave it a business profile distinct from many university-backed MOOC providers. In 2013, Udemy released an iOS application, followed by an Android application in 2014. Mobile access became an important part of the learning experience, and the service later became available through Apple TV. The company continued broadening its catalog beyond traditional academic topics. Examples of popular course areas included cloud platforms such as AWS and Azure, Microsoft Excel, mobile photography, business, health, fitness, and creative skills. Leadership changed in April 2014, when chief operating officer Dennis Yang succeeded Bali as chief executive. Udemy encountered a significant reputational challenge in 2015 after criticism that pirated courses were being hosted or monetized through the platform. The company expanded its anti-piracy work in 2018 with Link-Busters, reflecting the continuing difficulty of moderating a large user-generated educational catalog while preserving rapid instructor publishing. By 2020, Udemy had raised hundreds of millions of dollars and was valued by outside estimates at several billion dollars. The company was recognized on Fortune's Change the World list, although it had not yet achieved profitability and reported a substantial accumulated deficit before its public offering. In February 2019, the board appointed Gregg Coccari as chief executive. Udemy subsequently pursued a dual-market strategy: consumer learners could purchase individual courses, while employers could use Udemy Business for structured workforce learning and skills development. Udemy completed its U.S. initial public offering on October 29, 2021, trading under the symbol UDMY. After the IPO, the company continued investing in international content and enterprise products. It expanded localized offerings, including more than 100 Hindi courses in 2023. In the same year, Coccari announced his retirement as chief executive and chairman, and Greg Brown became his successor. The company entered a period of operational and strategic adjustment in 2024. It introduced the Udemy AI Assistant, including a skills-mapping capability, while also announcing changes affecting the proportion of revenue received by academic labor. By September, Udemy had reportedly reduced its workforce by about 30 percent and stated that it intended to hire more heavily in lower-cost regions. These actions generated criticism and added to debate about the economics of marketplace-based online education. Co-founder Eren Bali returned as chief technology officer in August 2024, but Ozzie Goldschmied replaced him in June 2025. In 2025, Udemy announced that Hugo Sarrazin would replace Greg Brown as chief executive. It also acquired Lummi, an image-generation tool, with the goal of enabling instructors to incorporate AI-generated material into courses. The company expanded its language reach to Arabic and reported its first positive net income since the IPO in August 2025. In December 2025, Coursera agreed to acquire Udemy in an equity transaction, creating a proposed combination of two major online-learning businesses. The transaction's ultimate status depends on the applicable closing conditions and regulatory or shareholder processes.
- 2025
Lummi acquisition and leadership transition
[1]Udemy acquired Lummi and announced Hugo Sarrazin as successor to Greg Brown as chief executive.
- 2025
Proposed Coursera acquisition
[1]Coursera agreed to acquire Udemy in an equity transaction announced in December.
- 2024
AI Assistant is introduced
[1]Udemy added an AI Assistant and skills-mapping functionality to its learning platform.
- 2023
Hindi catalog expansion
[1]The company introduced more than 100 Hindi-language courses.
- 2021
Initial public offering
[1]Udemy held its U.S. initial public offering and began trading under the symbol UDMY.
- 2018
Anti-piracy program is expanded
[1]Udemy expanded its efforts to combat unauthorized course distribution through work with Link-Busters.
- 2014
Android application launches
[1]Udemy released an Android application and Dennis Yang succeeded Eren Bali as chief executive.
- 2013
iOS application launches
[1]Udemy introduced an iOS application, extending access to its course catalog through mobile devices.
- 2010
Udemy is founded and launched
[1]Bali, Caglar, and Gagan Biyani founded Udemy in Silicon Valley and launched the platform in May.
- 2010
First reported venture funding
[1]Udemy raised approximately $1 million in venture funding by August after initially bootstrapping its product.
Products and positioning
A broad, accessible, marketplace-led online learning platform combining consumer self-directed education with enterprise skills training.
Consumer online learning · 2010
Udemy online course marketplace
Udemy's core marketplace allows instructors and subject-matter experts to publish courses for learners around the world. Courses commonly combine on-demand video with quizzes, assignments, downloadable resources, and completion tracking. The catalog covers technical, professional, creative, academic, and lifestyle subjects. Individual courses may be free or paid, and the marketplace model gives Udemy unusually broad coverage compared with platforms that rely primarily on a centrally curated curriculum.
Enterprise learning
Udemy Business
Udemy Business is the company's enterprise-oriented offering for organizational learning and development. It gives employers access to a professional course catalog and tools intended to support workforce training, technical upskilling, and skills management. The product extends Udemy beyond individual course purchases by positioning the platform as part of an employer's continuing education and talent-development infrastructure.
Mobile learning · 2013
Udemy mobile applications
Udemy's iOS and Android applications allow learners to browse, purchase, download, and watch courses on mobile devices. Mobile delivery supports the company's self-paced model and lets users continue courses away from a desktop computer. Udemy also made its service available through Apple TV, extending course consumption to connected-screen environments.
Artificial-intelligence learning tool · 2024
Udemy AI Assistant
Introduced in late 2024, Udemy AI Assistant is a natural-language interface integrated into the learning experience. It is designed to help learners interact with course material and includes skills-mapping functionality intended to connect learning activity with capability development. The feature represents Udemy's shift toward AI-supported discovery, personalization, and workforce-skills navigation.
Enterprise technology integration · 2025
Udemy Model Context Protocol server
Udemy launched an MCP server in 2025 to make training content available within employee and enterprise workflows. The integration is intended to connect learning resources with AI-enabled tools and workplace tasks, reducing the separation between course consumption and day-to-day professional activity.
Controversies
2024
Dispute over instructor economics and workforce reductions
Udemy announced changes that reduced the percentage of revenue received by academic labor and later reported a workforce reduction of about 30 percent, alongside plans to hire in lower-cost regions. The measures prompted criticism concerning the distribution of value between the platform, instructors, and employees.
2015
Criticism over pirated courses
Udemy was criticized for allegedly allowing pirated educational material to be hosted or monetized through its marketplace. The episode highlighted the tension between rapid, open instructor publishing and the need to verify rights in user-generated course content.
Brand decisions
2025
Integrate artificial intelligence into learning workflowsProduct launchBackground
Generative AI was changing how educational content is created, discovered, and consumed.
Action taken
Udemy acquired Lummi and launched an MCP server, seeking to support AI-generated course visuals and embed training into enterprise workflows.
Aftermath
The moves expanded Udemy's AI strategy beyond learner assistance toward content production and workplace integration.
2025
Agree to combination with CourseraM&ABackground
Both companies operated in online learning but had different strengths across course marketplaces, institutional content, and enterprise education.
Action taken
Coursera agreed to acquire Udemy in an equity transaction announced in December 2025.
Aftermath
The proposed transaction would combine two major online-learning platforms, subject to applicable closing conditions and other required processes.
Reported equity transaction value. $930 million transaction consideration (December 2025 announcement)
2024
Reorganize operations and adjust instructor economicsStrategyBackground
Udemy was pursuing efficiency and AI investment while managing pressure around profitability and operating costs.
Action taken
The company changed the revenue share available to academic labor, reduced its workforce, and announced plans to hire more in lower-cost regions.
Aftermath
The actions generated criticism from stakeholders and represented a significant shift toward operating efficiency.
2021
Become a publicly traded companyStrategyBackground
After years of venture funding and expansion across consumer and enterprise learning, Udemy pursued access to public capital markets.
Action taken
Udemy completed a U.S. initial public offering and listed under the ticker UDMY.
Aftermath
The listing increased public disclosure and investor scrutiny while the company continued to invest in enterprise learning and technology.
2010
Adopt an open instructor marketplaceStrategyBackground
The founders needed to build a large course catalog while operating with limited early financing.
Action taken
Udemy enabled outside instructors to create and distribute courses rather than producing the entire catalog internally.
Aftermath
The model accelerated catalog growth and established the broad, marketplace-led identity that remains central to the brand.
Recent events
- Unconfirmed
Udemy files for a US IPO[3]
Udemy filed regulatory paperwork for an initial public offering in the United States.
Reported
Vodafone and Udemy partner on small-business training[4]
Vodafone partnered with Udemy to offer its V-hub training programme to small businesses, providing access to more than 150,000 free and premium self-paced courses.
- Unconfirmed
Reported
Udemy acquires CorpU[5]
Udemy announced that it had acquired CorpU, an online leadership development platform. Udemy said the acquisition deepens its learning offerings with CorpU's immersive experiences.
Reported
Benesse agrees to invest $50 million in Udemy[6]
Udemy said Benesse Holdings had agreed to invest US$50 million in the company, valuing Udemy at US$2 billion according to a company statement.
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