Udemy

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Udemy, Inc.
Screenshot
Type of businessPublic
Type of site
Online education
Available in
Traded asNasdaq: UDMY
FoundedMay 11, 2010; 15 years ago (2010-05-11)
HeadquartersSan Francisco, California,
United States
Created by
Key peopleHugo Sarrazin (CEO)[5]
Industry
RevenueIncrease US$786.6 million (2024)[6]
Operating incomeDecrease US$−89 million (2024)[6]
Net incomeDecrease US$−85 million (2024)[6]
Total assetsIncrease US$605 million (2024)[6]
Total equityIncrease US$197.4 million (2024)[6]
Employees1,300[7]
URLwww.udemy.com
CommercialYes
RegistrationRequired
Users81 million (2025)[8]
Current statusActive

Udemy (/ˈjuːdəmi/ YOO-də-mee) is an American AI-driven reskilling platform.[9][10] Founded as a massive open online course (MOOC) provider, in May 2010, by Eren Bali, Gagan Biyani, and Oktay Caglar; the company is based in San Francisco, California,[11] with offices across the United States, and in Australia, India, Ireland, Mexico and Turkey.[12] Its online ecosystem facilitates creation and sharing of courses covering a wide range of subjects. It has millions of individual learners worldwide, including through its marketplace and enterprise Udemy Business platform. Courses are typically video-based and available for on-demand learning.[13]

History

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In 2007, Eren Bali and Oktay Caglar created a live virtual classroom while living in Turkey. They moved to Silicon Valley two years later, where they founded Udemy with Gagan Biyani in early 2010.[14] In February 2010, the founders tried to raise venture capital funding, but the idea failed to impress investors and they were rejected 30 times, according to Gagan Biyani. In response to this, they bootstrapped development of the product and launched Udemy in May 2010.[15] Within a few months, 1,000 instructors had created about 2,000 courses, and Udemy had nearly 10,000 registered users. It then raised $1 million in venture funding by August 2010.[16][17] Udemy was described by some sources as a MOOC platform during its early growth.[18][19]

On April 22, 2014, chief operating officer Dennis Yang succeeded Eren Bali as CEO.[20] In November 2015, Udemy was criticized for profiting from pirated courses on its platform.[21][22] In 2018, the company expanded its existing anti-piracy efforts via Link-Busters.[23] On February 5, 2019, the Udemy board appointed Gregg Coccari as its new CEO.[24]

As of November 2020, Udemy had raised $273 million in funding from investors, including Tencent Holdings; its valuation was estimated at $3.25 billion;[25] and it had ranked on Fortune's annual Change the World list.[26] By June 2021, Udemy had not generated a profit,[27] with an accumulated deficit of $407.9 million.[28]

On October 29, 2021, Udemy held its IPO in the U.S., and is listed under the symbol UDMY.[29] In February 2023, Greg Coccari announced his retirement as CEO and chairman, to be succeeded by Greg Brown.[30] In 2024, Udemy announced that it would be cutting the percentage of revenues that academic labor received.[31] By that September, it had laid off 30% of its employees and announced plans to hire in lower-cost regions.[11]

Co-founder Eren Bali returned as chief technology officer in August 2024. Bali, who previously co-founded and led Carbon Health, rejoined Udemy to oversee the company’s technology strategy;[32] he later transitioned to a new role, as head of innovation, with Ozzie Goldschmied then appointed as CTO, in June 2025.[33]

In early 2025, it was announced that Hugo Sarrazin would replace Greg Brown as CEO, to facilitate the company's adoption of AI-enabled skills development. Shares in the company then fell by 8.5%,[34] rebounding in the second quarter, which is credited to Udemy's AI-driven reiteration.[9][35][36] That May, in the company's shift from an online course marketplace to an AI-powered skills development platform, Udemy Innovation Studio was established,[9][5] followed by the acquisition of Lummi, to incorporate its AI-driven intuitive design tools, in June 2025.[37]

In August 2025, Udemy's streamlined, AI-powered enterprise delivered its first positive net income since launching its IPO.[36] The company also continued expanding into the Middle East, launching a localized learning platform in Arabic.[1]

Products and services

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Udemy is an AI-powered reskilling platform that allows instructors to host online courses on their preferred topics, and to upload videos and other educational materials.[38] Courses are offered in various categories, including business, academics, health and fitness, and music,[38][39] with most covering practical subjects, such as AWS and Azure training, Excel software, or using an iPhone camera.[40]

Courses on Udemy can be paid or free, depending on the instructor.[41] In 2015, the top 10 instructors made more than $17 million in total revenue.[42]

In April 2013, Udemy offered an app for Apple iOS, allowing students to take classes directly from iPhones.[43] The Android version was launched in January 2014.[44] As of January 2014, the iOS app had been downloaded over 1 million times, with 20% of its users accessing their courses via mobile.[45] In July 2016, Udemy's iOS platform includes Apple TV.[46]

In February 2023, the company began offering over 100 courses in Hindi.[2] Introduced in late 2024, the Udemy AI Assistant is a natural language chat interface integrated into its intelligent skills platform, with a skills mapping feature.[47] In August 2025, Udemy launched its Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, which embeds training into enterprise and employee workflows.[10]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Udemy launches AI-powered platform in Arabic as it plans expansion across the Middle East". EdTech Innovation Hub. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Udemy Business Launches Courses In Hindi To Expand Effective Skill Development Opportunities In India". ETHRWorld.com. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  3. ^ "FUNiX becomes Udemy's strategic partner in Việt Nam". vietnamnews.vn. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  4. ^ "Our origins". VentureBeat. June 2, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  5. ^ a b c "Udemy names Hugo Sarrazin as new CEO as it looks to AI and SaaS expansion". EdTech Innovation.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Udemy, Inc. 2024 Annual Report (Form 10-K)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. March 25, 2025.
  7. ^ "San Francisco tech giant plans to return to the office with AI push, leadership changes". San Francisco Business Times. May 6, 2025. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  8. ^ "Learn about Udemy culture, mission, and careers | About Us". Udemy About. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  9. ^ a b c Mitchell, Sean. "Udemy launches Innovation Studio to accelerate AI-led upskilling". IT Brief Australia. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  10. ^ a b "Udemy's AI-Powered Reskilling Platform: A Strategic Powerhouse in the Enterprise AI Revolution". Ainvest. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  11. ^ a b Council, Stephen. "SF ed-tech company worth $1.2B lays off hundreds, will rehire in 'lower cost' places". SFGate.
  12. ^ Kumar, Arun (September 1, 2025). "Ramji Sundararajan named President of Consumer at Udemy". The American Bazaar. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  13. ^ Lomas, Natasha (May 8, 2014). "Online Learning Marketplace Udemy Raises $32M To Scale Up Internationally". TechCrunch. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
  14. ^ Eren Bali biography. Udemy.com.
  15. ^ "How Udemy got oversubscribed". Venture Hacks. September 10, 2010. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
  16. ^ Roushe, Wade (August 31, 2010). "Udemy Collects $1 Million to Expand Casual Learning Platform". Xconomy.
  17. ^ Wauters, Robin (August 31, 2010). "Udemy Scores $1M In Seed Funding, Aims To Democratize Online Learning". TechCrunch. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
  18. ^ "What You Need to Know About MOOCs". Chronicle of Higher Education. August 8, 2012.
  19. ^ LEWIN, TAMAR (March 5, 2012). "Instruction for Masses Knocks Down Campus Walls". New York Times.
  20. ^ Kolodny, Lora (April 22, 2014). "Udemy Appoints Dennis Yang CEO; Eren Bali Steps Aside to Lead Product". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
  21. ^ Dave Lee (November 30, 2015). "Anger at 'stolen' online courses on Udemy". BBC News. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
  22. ^ Amar Toor (November 29, 2015). "Udemy faces criticism for profiting from pirated online courses". The Verge. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
  23. ^ Team, Udemy Instructor (April 25, 2018). "Udemy is Expanding its Anti-Piracy Efforts". Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  24. ^ Strickland, Brooke (August 9, 2022). "Gregg Coccari came out of retirement to take Udemy to next level". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  25. ^ Adams, Susan. "Udemy Adds More Than $1 Billion To Its Valuation In New Funding Round". Forbes. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
  26. ^ "Change the World". Fortune. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
  27. ^ "Udemy IPO: EdTech Unicorn Filing Information For Investors". seekingalpha.com. Seeking Alpha. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  28. ^ "Form S-1 Registration Statement". www.sec.gov. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved October 26, 2021.
  29. ^ "Education-Tech Company Udemy Falls in Debut After $421 Million IPO". Bloomberg.com. October 29, 2021. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  30. ^ "Udemy Announces CEO Transition". About Udemy. Retrieved August 4, 2025.
  31. ^ RL Insights. "Udemy: Focus On Profitability Via Reduction In Instructor Incentive". seekingalpha.com. Seeking Alpha. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
  32. ^ Ravindranath, Mohana (August 20, 2024). "Carbon Health founder steps back from top role, Kaiser hospitals roll out AI scribe". STAT. Retrieved June 23, 2025.
  33. ^ Darley, James (June 12, 2025). "Udemy: Ozzie Goldschmied Appointed CTO for AI Strategy Focus". aimagazine.com. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  34. ^ Andersen, Ted. "Daily Digest: 'Pokémon Go' sold to Saudi-backed company; Udemy names new CEO". SF Business Journal. Retrieved March 14, 2025.
  35. ^ Huřťák, Petr (August 12, 2025). "5 Revealing Analyst Questions From Udemy's Q2 Earnings Call". Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved October 2, 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  36. ^ a b "Udemy Q2 2025 earnings show enterprise strength, first profit under new CEO | ETIH EdTech News". EdTech Innovation Hub. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  37. ^ "Udemy acquires AI stock image creator Lummi to enhance its courses with AI-generated designs and illustrations". EdTech Innovation Hub. Retrieved October 2, 2025.
  38. ^ a b "Udemy Review". PCMAG. February 14, 2022. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
  39. ^ "E-learning: Udemy lance une offre pour les professionnels". Le Monde Informatique. March 16, 2020. Retrieved September 14, 2025.
  40. ^ Finder, Alan (September 25, 2013). "A Surge in Growth for a New Kind of Online Course". New York Times. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  41. ^ Empson, Rip (April 3, 2013). "With Over 6,000 Courses Now Live, Udemy Brings Its Learning Marketplace To iOS To Let You Study On The Go". TechCrunch. AOL. Retrieved May 4, 2013.
  42. ^ Groden, Claire (June 22, 2016). "Udemy's Exodus, Amazon's Gain". Inverse. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  43. ^ Grant, Rebecca (April 2, 2013). "Udemy's new iOS app turns your phone into a 24-hour classroom". VentureBeat. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
  44. ^ Farr, Christina (January 15, 2014). "Udemy launches its Android app to bring you online education on the go". VentureBeat.
  45. ^ Hockenson, Lauren (January 15, 2014). "Udemy brings its education marketplace to Android". Gigaom. Archived from the original on January 17, 2014.
  46. ^ Reisinger, Don (September 14, 2022). "The best Apple TV apps and games right now". Tom's Guide. Retrieved March 9, 2025.
  47. ^ https://www.edtechinnovationhub.com/news/udemy-introduces-ai-assistant-and-skills-mapping
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