LinkedIn spends US$1.5bn on online education platform

Lynda.com launched 20 years ago as a print book business by co-founders Lynda Weinman and Bruce Heavin. It then transitioned to offering online, video-based courses in business, technology and creative skillsets, now claiming a library of 6,300 courses and 267,000 videos available in multiple languages.

For LinkedIn, the acquisition strengthens the second of the platform’s main benefits to members. There are the networking features, and then there’s the content-oriented strategy designed to improve their knowledge and skills.

“Matching talent and opportunity is a simplified take on the equation,” says LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner in a blog post about the deal. “Without access to education and the ability to acquire skills, many of these opportunities will remain far out of reach for most people. With today’s announcement that LinkedIn intends to acquire lynda.com, LinkedIn has taken a material step forward toward connecting these dots.”

The deal also gives LinkedIn a recurring revenue source, and not just from its 300 individual members. Lynda.com also has enterprise subscription packages for corporate, non-profit, academic and government organisations.

Source: foliomag.com

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