Skillshare is an online creative learning community that provides pre-recorded classes, workshops, live sessions and collaboration tools across illustration, graphic design, fine art, photography, marketing, animation, film and freelance skills. The company operates a catalog of 30,000 classes and reports more than 12 million registered members and nearly 8,000 teachers. Led by CEO Matt Cooper and based in New York City, Skillshare received an investment from NewSpring’s growth and expansion strategy; the amount was not disclosed. The company intends to use the funds to add content, invest in tools that increase engagement between students and teachers, expand teachers’ audiences through dedicated marketing efforts, and create new formats for teachers to earn revenue. It also plans to extend its reach to more subscribers in the U.S. and abroad. No additional financial terms or past rounds were provided in the article. Skillshare is an online learning platform focused on creativity, offering user-taught classes alongside higher-production "Skillshare Originals." The company reports 12 million registered members, 8,000 teachers and 30,000 classes, with subscriptions priced at $99 per year or $19 per month. Since a January 2020 rebrand emphasizing creativity, new membership sign-ups have tripled and existing members are watching three times the number of lessons. Skillshare continued producing Originals during the pandemic by sending instructors gear and supervising shoots remotely. The company said it was cash-flow positive in the first half of 2020 and raised new capital to invest in growth, particularly its Skillshare for Teams enterprise product. Management plans to scale international reach (two-thirds of new sign-ups are outside the U.S., with India the fastest-growing market) and to make product changes such as multi-currency payments and subtitle support. Skillshare is an online learning community that hosts thousands of classes across design, business, technology and other creative disciplines. The platform offers hundreds of free classes and a Premium subscription that provides unlimited access to its full catalog. Skillshare’s community comprises over 5 million students, more than 20,000 classes and a network of roughly 6,000 teachers from 100+ countries. Led by CEO Matt Cooper and founded in 2010, the company emphasizes peer learning, skills development and monetization opportunities for instructors. Skillshare said it will use the new funds to accelerate growth and build out its learning ecosystem targeting independent professionals around the globe. Skillshare is a New York-based edtech company that operates a subscription marketplace of bite-sized, self-paced courses aimed at creators. The platform offers unlimited access to its catalog for $10 per month and hosts about 5,000 classes. Skillshare reports 3 million enrollments to date and employs 40 full-time staff. Instructors include locally acclaimed chefs, industry executives, and designers, and anyone may become an instructor on the platform. The company plans to use its new funding to double headcount, expand internationally, and add courses and features requested by instructors and subscribers. It faces competition from CreativeLive, Masterclass, Udemy, Lynda.com and university course offerings. Skillshare launched in 2011 to provide project-based, interactive online and offline classes that connect subject experts with learners. The platform offers video-based lessons that are both live and self-paced, emphasizing projects, peer feedback, and online office hours. It operates as an open platform, allowing anyone to submit classes and supplemental content while students participate in discussions and submit projects. Growth metrics show over 100K paid enrollments across more than 500 classes, and the platform's top teacher earned over $100K in 2013 (a milestone later exceeded by Seth Godin). Monetization is beginning to pick up, and Skillshare plans to add more courses—particularly in business, design, and tech—extend student support, and launch a mobile platform. The company has also been building social features, including an activity feed, to increase community interaction and make the learning experience stickier.

Total raised

$114M

Funding rounds

8

Latest round

Series D

Latest activity

Aug 2020