Coursera

Is Coursera a publicly traded company?
Yes, Coursera is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker COUR. The company went public in March 2021, pricing shares at $33 and valuing the company at approximately $4.3 billion. Coursera has a single class of common stock with no dual-class structure. Major institutional shareholders include NEA, GSV Capital, and Kleiner Perkins, all of which invested prior to the IPO.

Who founded Coursera?
Coursera was founded in 2012 by Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller, both Stanford University computer science professors. They began offering their Stanford courses online in fall 2011 and received an overwhelming response, with hundreds of thousands of students enrolling. This response led them to leave Stanford and launch Coursera as a dedicated platform. The first university partners were Princeton, Stanford, the University of Michigan, and the University of Pennsylvania.

What is Coursera acquiring?
Coursera agreed to acquire Udemy in December 2025 for approximately $930 million in equity. Udemy is an online learning marketplace with over 220,000 courses created by independent instructors. The acquisition combines Coursera's university partnership model with Udemy's marketplace approach, creating a combined company valued at approximately $2.5 billion. The combined company is expected to generate over $800 million in annual revenue.

How many partners does Coursera have?
Coursera partners with over 350 universities and organizations worldwide to offer courses, certifications, and degree programs. Key partners include Stanford, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, Google, IBM, and Meta. These partnerships provide Coursera with academic credibility and content that is recognized by employers. The company also works with enterprise customers through its Coursera for Business segment.

Is Coursera a B Corporation?
Yes, Coursera achieved B Corporation certification in February 2021. B Corporation certification is administered by B Lab and requires companies to meet standards for social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. As a B Corporation, Coursera is legally required to consider the impact of its decisions on all stakeholders, not just shareholders. Coursera is one of a small number of public companies that maintain B Corporation certification.

What is Coursera's revenue?
Coursera reported revenue of approximately $524 million for fiscal year 2024. This represents growth from $293 million in 2020, when the company filed for its IPO. However, Coursera has not achieved consistent profitability, with net losses continuing in several quarters. Following the Udemy acquisition, the combined company is expected to generate over $800 million in annual revenue.

What services does Coursera offer?
Coursera provides online courses, professional certificates, specializations, and online degree programs in partnership with universities and organizations. The platform serves individual learners through Coursera for Consumers, enterprise customers through Coursera for Business, and academic institutions through Coursera for Campus. Professional certificate programs developed with Google, IBM, and Meta are among the most popular offerings. Many courses are available to audit for free, but certificates require payment.

Coursera was founded in 2012 by Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller, both Stanford University computer science professors. The founders began offering their Stanford courses online in fall 2011. The response was overwhelming, with hundreds of thousands of students enrolling in the first online courses. This response led Ng and Koller to leave Stanford and launch Coursera as a dedicated platform.

The first universities to offer content on Coursera were Princeton, Stanford, the University of Michigan, and the University of Pennsylvania. These initial partnerships with prestigious institutions established Coursera's credibility and academic rigor. The company quickly expanded its university partnerships, adding dozens of institutions in its first year.

Coursera raised venture capital funding from firms including Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, New Enterprise Associates, and GSV Capital. The company used this funding to build its platform, expand its university partnerships, and develop new product offerings including specializations and professional certificates.

In 2014, Coursera received Webby Winner and People's Voice Winner awards in the Websites and Mobile Sites Education category. The company continued expanding its partnerships and course offerings, working with universities and organizations globally to provide courses, certifications, and degree programs. Coursera also developed professional certificate programs in partnership with major technology companies including Google, IBM, and Meta.

Coursera filed for its initial public offering in March 2021. The company reported approximately $293 million in revenue for fiscal year 2020, representing 59% growth from 2019. Net losses widened to $66.8 million in 2020, with the company spending $107 million on marketing. The IPO priced shares at $33, valuing the company at approximately $4.3 billion.

In February 2021, Coursera announced its B Corporation certification. This certification demonstrated the company's commitment to social and environmental performance alongside financial performance. Coursera is one of a small number of public companies that maintain B Corporation certification.

Following the IPO, Coursera continued to grow revenue but struggled with profitability. The company reported revenue of approximately $524 million for FY2024, up from $293 million in 2020. However, the company has not achieved consistent profitability, with net losses continuing in several quarters.

The most significant recent development came in December 2025 when Coursera agreed to acquire Udemy for approximately $930 million in equity. Udemy is an online learning marketplace with over 220,000 courses created by independent instructors. The acquisition combines Coursera's university partnership model with Udemy's marketplace approach. The combined company is expected to generate over $800 million in annual revenue.

Coursera is a Certified B Corporation, having achieved certification in February 2021. B Corporation certification requires the company to meet standards for social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. The certification is administered by B Lab, a nonprofit organization. Coursera must recertify periodically to maintain its B Corporation status.

As a B Corporation, Coursera is legally required to consider the impact of its decisions on all stakeholders, including learners, employees, university partners, and the community. This commitment is encoded in the company's corporate governance documents. However, as a public company, Coursera also faces pressure to deliver financial results, which can create tension with its stakeholder commitments.

Coursera's environmental footprint is relatively small compared to manufacturing or retail companies. The company's primary environmental impact comes from data center operations and cloud infrastructure. Coursera does not publish detailed environmental metrics or science-based targets for emissions reduction.

The company's primary social impact is through its educational mission. Coursera provides free access to many courses for learners who cannot afford to pay for certificates. The company also offers financial aid programs for learners who demonstrate need. These programs align with the company's B Corporation commitments.

Coursera does not have Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) commitments. The company's sustainability reporting is limited to what is required for B Corporation recertification and should be evaluated as first-party information.

Coursera operates in the education technology sector, which faces regulatory scrutiny related to educational quality, data privacy, and consumer protection. The company must comply with regulations including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union.

Questions about the value of online certificates compared to traditional degrees are an ongoing issue for Coursera and the broader online education industry. While Coursera's professional certificates from companies like Google and IBM have gained employer recognition, the value of individual course certificates is less clear. Some employers and academic institutions do not recognize online certificates as equivalent to traditional credentials.

Coursera has faced criticism for its pricing model, which charges learners for certificates while offering course content for free. Critics argue that this model creates a two-tier system where learners who can afford certificates receive credentials while those who cannot are limited to auditing. Coursera's financial aid program addresses this concern partially, but the application process can be opaque.

The Udemy acquisition has drawn scrutiny from antitrust regulators. The combination of two of the largest online learning platforms could reduce competition in the market. However, the online learning market remains fragmented with many competitors, and the two companies operate different business models (university partnerships versus marketplace), which may mitigate antitrust concerns.

Data privacy is an ongoing concern for all education technology companies. Coursera collects significant data on learner behavior, progress, and preferences. The company must navigate complex data protection regulations across multiple jurisdictions. While Coursera has not been the subject of major data privacy controversies, the risk is inherent in the industry.