LinkedIn Learning

{{Infobox company

| name = LinkedIn Learning

| logo = LinkedIn Learning logo.png

| former_name = Lynda.com (1995-2017)

| type = Subsidiary

| founded = {{Start date and age|1995}}

| founders = {{Unbulleted list

| Lynda Weinman

| Bruce Heavin

}}

| industry = E-learning

| services = {{Unbulleted list

| Online education

| Online publishing}}

| revenue =

| revenue_year =

| num_employees =

| num_employees_year =

| parent = LinkedIn (2015-present)

| website = {{URL|https://www.linkedin.com/learning/}}

| footnotes = {{Cite web |url=http://go.bloomberg.com/tech-deals/2013-01-16-lynda-com-lands-103-million-in-biggest-education-financing/ |title=Lynda.com Lands $103 Million in Biggest Education Financing |publisher=Bloomberg |date=2013-01-16 |access-date=2014-02-22}}

}}

LinkedIn Learning is an American global massive open online course provider. It provides video courses taught by industry experts in software, creative, and business skills. It is a subsidiary of LinkedIn. All the courses on LinkedIn fall into four categories: Business, Creative, Technology, and Certifications.

It was founded in 1995 by Lynda Weinman as Lynda.com before being acquired by LinkedIn in 2015 and becoming LinkedIn Learning.{{Cite web |url=https://readwrite.com/2013/12/03/lynda-weinman-online-education-builders/ |title=Lynda.com Founder: I Was Educating Online Before Online Education Was Cool |last=Larson |first=Selena |date=2013-12-03 |website=ReadWrite |language=en-US |access-date=2019-02-06}} Microsoft acquired LinkedIn in December 2016.{{cite news |title=LinkedIn CEO: Here's Why I Sold the Company to Microsoft |url=https://time.com/4366106/linkedin-microsoft-why/ |work=Time |language=en}}

History

LinkedIn Learning was founded as Lynda.com in 1995 in Ojai, California, as online support for the books and classes of Lynda Weinman, a special effects animator and multimedia professor who founded a digital arts school with her husband, artist Bruce Heavin.{{cite web |url=http://www.xconomy.com/national/2013/03/28/knowledge-when-you-need-it-lynda-com-and-the-rise-of-online-education/?single_page=true |title=Knowledge When You Need It: Lynda.com and the Rise of Online Education |publisher=Xconomy |date=2013-03-28 |author=Roush, Wade}}

In 2002, the company began offering courses online.{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/2011/06/lynda/ |title=A Paywall That Pays Off: How Lynda.com Broke All the Rules and Won |last=Singel |first=Ryan |date=2011-06-17 |magazine=Wired |access-date=2019-02-06 |issn=1059-1028}} By 2004, there were 100 courses, and in 2008, the company began producing and publishing documentaries on creative leaders, artists, and entrepreneurs.{{Cite news |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevemeyer/2015/05/12/linkedins-blockbuster-deal-with-lynda-com-what-it-means-to-the-online-learning-industry/3/# |title=LinkedIn's Blockbuster Deal With Lynda.com: What It Means To The Online Learning Industry |last=Meyer |first=Stephen J. |date=2015-05-12 |work=Forbes |access-date=2018-01-20 |language=en}}

In 2013, Lynda.com received its first outside investment, raising $103 million (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=103000000|start_year=2013}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) in growth equity from Accel Partners and Spectrum Equity, with additional contributions from Meritech Capital Partners.{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/01/15/after-17-years-education-platform-lynda-com-raises-its-first-round-of-funding-103m-from-accel-spectrum/ |title=After 17 Years, Education Platform Lynda.com Raises Its First Round of Funding, $103M From Accel & Spectrum |publisher=TechCrunch |date=2013-01-15 |author=Empson, Rip}} On January 14, 2015, Lynda.com announced it had raised $186 million (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=186000000|start_year=2015}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) in financing, led by investment group TPG Capital.{{Cite web |url=https://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/14/investors-put-186-million-into-lynda-com-an-online-tutorial-service/ |title=Investors Put $186 Million Into Lynda.com, an Online Tutorial Service |last=Singer |first=Natasha |date=2015-01-14 |website=Bits Blog |language=en-US |access-date=2019-02-06}}

On April 9, 2015, LinkedIn announced its intention to buy Lynda.com in a deal valued at $1.5 billion, which officially closed on May 14, 2015.{{Cite web |url=https://blog.linkedin.com/2015/04/09/lynda-joins-linkedin |title=Welcome to the LinkedIn Family, lynda.com |last=Roslansky |first=Ryan |date=2015-04-09 |website=blog.linkedin.com |language=en-us |access-date=2017-11-01}}

In 2016, Lynda.com began to broadcast courses on their Apple TV application.{{Cite web |url=https://venturebeat.com/2016/04/21/linkedin-makes-all-lynda-com-courses-available-on-apple-tv/ |title=LinkedIn makes all Lynda.com courses available on Apple TV |last=Yeung |first=Ken |date=2016-04-21 |website=VentureBeat |language=en-US |access-date=2018-01-20}}

On June 13, 2016, Microsoft announced that it would acquire Lynda.com's parent company LinkedIn for $26.2 billion (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=26200000000|start_year=2016}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}). The acquisition was completed on December 8, 2016.{{cite press release |url=http://news.microsoft.com/2016/06/13/microsoft-to-acquire-linkedin/ |title=Microsoft to acquire LinkedIn {{!}} News Center|date=June 13, 2016|quote=Microsoft Corp. and LinkedIn Corporation on Monday announced they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Microsoft will acquire LinkedIn for $16 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at $26.2 billion, inclusive of LinkedIn’s net cash.|publisher=Microsoft|access-date=2016-06-13}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/microsoft-to-acquire-linkedin-in-deal-valued-at-26-2-billion-1465821523 |title=Microsoft to Acquire LinkedIn for $26.2 Billion |last=Greene |first=Jay |date=2016-06-14 |work=Wall Street Journal |access-date=2019-02-06 |language=en-US |issn=0099-9660}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/linkedin-microsoft-our-next-play-begins-jeff-weiner |title=LinkedIn + Microsoft: Our Next Play Begins |last=Weiner |first=Jeff |date=2016-12-08 |publisher=LinkedIn }}

In October 2017, Lynda.com was merged and renamed LinkedIn Learning.{{cite web |url=https://www.lynda.com/Business-tutorials/Upgrading-from-Lynda-com-LinkedIn-Learning/675718-2.html |title=Upgrading from Lynda.com to LinkedIn Learning |date=2017-10-20 |website=Lynda.com - from LinkedIn |access-date=2018-10-22 |archive-date=2020-09-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921002032/https://www.lynda.com/Business-tutorials/Upgrading-from-Lynda-com-LinkedIn-Learning/675718-2.html |url-status=dead }} 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 librarians and the American Library Association.{{Cite web|url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-is-moving-lynda-com-users-to-linkedin-learning-and-not-everyones-happy-about-it/|title=Microsoft is moving Lynda.com users to LinkedIn Learning and not everyone's happy about it|last=Foley|first=Mary Jo|author-link=Mary Jo Foley|website=ZDNet|language=en|access-date=2019-08-26|date=August 22, 2019}}{{cite web|first1=Catalin|last1=Cimpanu|access-date=2019-10-28|title=American Library Association blasts LinkedIn for intrusive ToS changes|url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/american-library-association-blasts-linkedin-for-intrusive-tos-changes/|website=ZDNet|date=July 23, 2019}}{{cite web|first1=Jennifer|last1=Elias|access-date=2019-10-28|title=Why librarians are up in arms against LinkedIn|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/28/linkedin-change-to-learning-tools-registration-upsets-librarians.html|date=28 August 2019|website=CNBC}} As of March 2021, libraries started migrating to LinkedIn Learning without requiring patrons to create a LinkedIn profile.{{Cite web|title=LinkedIn Learning for Library – Patron FAQ|url=https://www.linkedin.com/help/learning/answer/107121/linkedin-learning-for-library-patron-faq?lang=en|access-date=2021-03-26|website=Learning Help|language=en}}

On June 2, 2021, the lynda.com site was shut down and is now permanently redirected to LinkedIn Learning.{{Cite web |last=Shah |first=Dhawal |date=2021-07-12 |title=LinkedIn Sunsets Lynda.com and Fully Transitions to LinkedIn Learning |url=https://www.classcentral.com/report/lynda-shutdowns/ |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=The Report by Class Central |language=en-US}}

Acquisitions

In February 2013, Lynda.com acquired video2brain, an Austrian-based provider of online classes in web design and programming, available in German, French, Spanish, and English.{{Cite web |url=https://gigaom.com/2013/02/13/flush-with-cash-lynda-com-buys-european-online-learning-site-video2brain/ |title=Flush with cash, lynda.com buys European online learning site video2brain |last=Heussner |first=Ki Mae |date=2013-02-13 |website=Gigaom |language=en-US |access-date=2019-02-06 |archive-date=2019-04-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410003822/https://gigaom.com/2013/02/13/flush-with-cash-lynda-com-buys-european-online-learning-site-video2brain/ |url-status=dead }}

On April 7, 2014, Lynda.com purchased Canadian start-up Compilr, provider of an online editor and sandbox.{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2014/04/07/e-learning-platform-lynda-com-buys-compilr-to-add-in-browser-coding-tools-price-around-20m/ |title=E-Learning Platform Buys Compilr To Add In-Browser Coding Tools, Price Around $20M |publisher=TechCrunch |date=2014-04-07 |author=Lunden, Ingrid}}

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.