# LinkedIn Learning

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Online education company

LinkedIn Learning Formerly Lynda.com (1995-2017) Type Subsidiary Industry E-learning Founded 1995; 31 years ago (1995) Founders Lynda Weinman Bruce Heavin Headquarters Carpinteria Services Online education Online publishing Parent LinkedIn (2015-present) Website linkedin.com/learning Footnotes [1]

**LinkedIn Learning** is an American global [massive open online course](/source/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](/source/LinkedIn). All the courses on LinkedIn fall into four categories: Business, Creative, Technology, and Certifications.

It was founded in 1995 by [Lynda Weinman](/source/Lynda_Weinman) as **Lynda.com** before being acquired by LinkedIn in 2015 and becoming LinkedIn Learning.[2] [Microsoft](/source/Microsoft) acquired LinkedIn in December 2016.[3]

## History

LinkedIn Learning was founded as Lynda.com in 1995 in [Ojai](/source/Ojai%2C_California), [California](/source/California), initially serving as an online resource to support the books and classes of [Lynda Weinman](/source/Lynda_Weinman), a special effects animator and multimedia professor who founded a digital arts school with her husband, artist Bruce Heavin.[4]

The company expanded into online education in 2002, offering digital courses through its platform.[5] By 2004, its catalog had grown to approximately 100 courses, and in 2008 it broadened its content offerings to include documentary-style features on creative professionals, artists, and entrepreneurs.[6]

Lynda.com pursued both strategic acquisitions and external investment to support its growth. In February 2013, the company acquired video2brain, an [Austrian](/source/Austria)-based provider of online classes in web design and programming, available in German, French, Spanish, and English.[7] The following year, it acquired Compilr, a Canadian startup offering an online coding editor and sandbox environment.[8]

During this period, Lynda.com also secured its first major outside funding. In 2013, it raised $103 million (~$136 million in 2024) in growth [equity](/source/Equity_(finance)) from [Accel Partners](/source/Accel_Partners), Spectrum Equity, and [Meritech Capital Partners](/source/Meritech_Capital_Partners).[9] On January 14, 2015, the company raised an additional $186 million (~$240 million in 2024) in financing led by [TPG Capital](/source/TPG_Capital).[10]

[LinkedIn](/source/LinkedIn) announced its acquistion of Lynda.com in April 2015, completing the $1.5 billion transaction in May of that year.[11] Following the acquisition, the platform continued to expand distribution, including an [Apple TV](/source/Apple_TV_(device)) application in 2016.[12]

[Microsoft](/source/Microsoft) announced that it would acquire Lynda.com's parent company LinkedIn for $26.2 billion (~$33.5 billion in 2024), which was completed in December 2016.[13][14][15] In October 2017, Lynda.com was merged and renamed *LinkedIn Learning*.[16] In 2019, the site announced that users accessing LinkedIn Learning through their [public library](/source/Public_library) would be required to create a LinkedIn profile in order to use the service; the decision faced criticism from [librarians](/source/Librarian) and the [American Library Association](/source/American_Library_Association).[17][18][19] As of March 2021, libraries started migrating to LinkedIn Learning without requiring patrons to create a LinkedIn profile.[20]

The original Lynda.com website was discontinued on June 2, 2021, and permanently redirects to LinkedIn Learning.[21]

## See also

- [FutureLearn](/source/FutureLearn)

- [Khan Academy](/source/Khan_Academy)

- [Pluralsight](/source/Pluralsight)

- [EdX](/source/EdX)

- [Coursera](/source/Coursera)

- [Udemy](/source/Udemy)

- [Udacity](/source/Udacity)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Bloomberg2013_1-0)** ["Lynda.com Lands $103 Million in Biggest Education Financing"](http://go.bloomberg.com/tech-deals/2013-01-16-lynda-com-lands-103-million-in-biggest-education-financing/). [Bloomberg](/source/Bloomberg_News). 2013-01-16. Retrieved 2014-02-22.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Larson, Selena (2013-12-03). ["Lynda.com Founder: I Was Educating Online Before Online Education Was Cool"](https://web.archive.org/web/20131205225913/http://readwrite.com/2013/12/03/lynda-weinman-online-education-builders). *ReadWrite*. Archived from the original on December 5, 2013. Retrieved 2019-02-06.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["LinkedIn CEO: Here's Why I Sold the Company to Microsoft"](https://time.com/4366106/linkedin-microsoft-why/). *[Time](/source/Time_(magazine))*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Roush, Wade (2013-03-28). ["Knowledge When You Need It: Lynda.com and the Rise of Online Education"](http://www.xconomy.com/national/2013/03/28/knowledge-when-you-need-it-lynda-com-and-the-rise-of-online-education/?single_page=true). [Xconomy](/source/Xconomy). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160304093733/http://xconomy.com/national/2013/03/28/knowledge-when-you-need-it-lynda-com-and-the-rise-of-online-education/?single_page=true) from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-12-05.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Singel, Ryan (2011-06-17). ["A Paywall That Pays Off: How Lynda.com Broke All the Rules and Won"](https://www.wired.com/2011/06/lynda/). *Wired*. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1059-1028](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1059-1028). Retrieved 2019-02-06.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Meyer, Stephen J. (2015-05-12). ["LinkedIn's Blockbuster Deal With Lynda.com: What It Means To The Online Learning Industry"](https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevemeyer/2015/05/12/linkedins-blockbuster-deal-with-lynda-com-what-it-means-to-the-online-learning-industry/3/#). *Forbes*. Retrieved 2018-01-20.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Heussner, Ki Mae (2013-02-13). ["Flush with cash, lynda.com buys European online learning site video2brain"](https://web.archive.org/web/20190410003822/https://gigaom.com/2013/02/13/flush-with-cash-lynda-com-buys-european-online-learning-site-video2brain/). *[Gigaom](/source/Gigaom)*. Archived from [the original](https://gigaom.com/2013/02/13/flush-with-cash-lynda-com-buys-european-online-learning-site-video2brain/) on 2019-04-10. Retrieved 2019-02-06.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Lunden, Ingrid (2014-04-07). ["E-Learning Platform Buys Compilr To Add In-Browser Coding Tools, Price Around $20M"](https://techcrunch.com/2014/04/07/e-learning-platform-lynda-com-buys-compilr-to-add-in-browser-coding-tools-price-around-20m/). TechCrunch.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Empson, Rip (2013-01-15). ["After 17 Years, Education Platform Lynda.com Raises Its First Round of Funding, $103M From Accel & Spectrum"](https://techcrunch.com/2013/01/15/after-17-years-education-platform-lynda-com-raises-its-first-round-of-funding-103m-from-accel-spectrum/). TechCrunch.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Singer, Natasha (2015-01-14). ["Investors Put $186 Million Into Lynda.com, an Online Tutorial Service"](https://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/14/investors-put-186-million-into-lynda-com-an-online-tutorial-service/). *Bits Blog*. Retrieved 2019-02-06.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Roslansky, Ryan (2015-04-09). ["Welcome to the LinkedIn Family, lynda.com"](https://blog.linkedin.com/2015/04/09/lynda-joins-linkedin). *blog.linkedin.com*. Retrieved 2017-11-01.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Yeung, Ken (2016-04-21). ["LinkedIn makes all Lynda.com courses available on Apple TV"](https://venturebeat.com/2016/04/21/linkedin-makes-all-lynda-com-courses-available-on-apple-tv/). *VentureBeat*. Retrieved 2018-01-20.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-news_Micr_13-0)** ["Microsoft to acquire LinkedIn | News Center"](http://news.microsoft.com/2016/06/13/microsoft-to-acquire-linkedin/) (Press release). Microsoft. June 13, 2016. Retrieved 2016-06-13. Microsoft Corp. and LinkedIn Corporation on Monday announced they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Microsoft will [acquire](/source/Mergers_and_acquisitions) LinkedIn for $16 per [share](/source/Share_(finance)) in an all-cash [transaction](/source/Financial_transaction) valued at $26.2 billion, inclusive of LinkedIn's net cash.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** Greene, Jay (2016-06-14). ["Microsoft to Acquire LinkedIn for $26.2 Billion"](https://www.wsj.com/articles/microsoft-to-acquire-linkedin-in-deal-valued-at-26-2-billion-1465821523). *Wall Street Journal*. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0099-9660](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0099-9660). Retrieved 2019-02-06.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** Weiner, Jeff (2016-12-08). ["LinkedIn + Microsoft: Our Next Play Begins"](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/linkedin-microsoft-our-next-play-begins-jeff-weiner). LinkedIn.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** ["Upgrading from Lynda.com to LinkedIn Learning"](https://web.archive.org/web/20200921002032/https://www.lynda.com/Business-tutorials/Upgrading-from-Lynda-com-LinkedIn-Learning/675718-2.html). *Lynda.com - from LinkedIn*. 2017-10-20. Archived from [the original](https://www.lynda.com/Business-tutorials/Upgrading-from-Lynda-com-LinkedIn-Learning/675718-2.html) on 2020-09-21. Retrieved 2018-10-22.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** [Foley, Mary Jo](/source/Mary_Jo_Foley) (August 22, 2019). ["Microsoft is moving Lynda.com users to LinkedIn Learning and not everyone's happy about it"](https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-is-moving-lynda-com-users-to-linkedin-learning-and-not-everyones-happy-about-it/). *[ZDNet](/source/ZDNet)*. Retrieved 2019-08-26.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** Cimpanu, Catalin (July 23, 2019). ["American Library Association blasts LinkedIn for intrusive ToS changes"](https://www.zdnet.com/article/american-library-association-blasts-linkedin-for-intrusive-tos-changes/). *[ZDNet](/source/ZDNet)*. Retrieved 2019-10-28.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** Elias, Jennifer (28 August 2019). ["Why librarians are up in arms against LinkedIn"](https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/28/linkedin-change-to-learning-tools-registration-upsets-librarians.html). *[CNBC](/source/CNBC)*. Retrieved 2019-10-28.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-20)** ["LinkedIn Learning for Library – Patron FAQ"](https://www.linkedin.com/help/learning/answer/107121/linkedin-learning-for-library-patron-faq?lang=en). *Learning Help*. Retrieved 2021-03-26.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-:0_21-0)** Shah, Dhawal (2021-07-12). ["LinkedIn Sunsets Lynda.com and Fully Transitions to LinkedIn Learning"](https://www.classcentral.com/report/lynda-shutdowns/). *The Report by Class Central*. Retrieved 2022-12-27.

## External links

- [Official website](https://www.linkedin.com/learning/)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [LinkedIn Learning](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LinkedIn_Learning) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LinkedIn_Learning?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.