Analysts speculate Coursera is considering an IPO (Initial Public Offering) following their 9 successful rounds of funding. Having raised a total of $443.1 million, Coursera’s IPO is speculated to give the company a $5bn valuation. However, as news surrounding the public offering is wholly speculative, with no confirmation of dates (though sources suggest early 2021 as a potential contender), and no publicly confirmed underwriters, Coursera may choose to remain private in the end.
Nevertheless, having shown spectacular growth over the past years, and attracting the attention of major venture capital funds such as Kleiner Perkins, it is worthwhile to take a look at how Coursera got here.
History of the Company
Founded by Stanford University Computer Science Professors Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller in 2012, Coursera was amongst the first of many MOOCs (Massive Open Online Course) that year. 2012 saw the introduction of so many major online education platforms, such as edX and Udacity, that the New York Times has called it the “year of the MOOC.”
Coursera began by offering courses accredited by Stanford University on its platform and soon saw the likes of academic behemoths such as Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania join the platform as course providers. From there, Coursera aggressively grew and expanded into providing specialisations and enterprise training.
Business Model
A year after its inception, Coursera reported its revenue as $1m in 2013. This was by large due to its fee-based courses, which gave users the ability to purchase verified completion certificates from accredited courses.
Following this, the company raised a staggering $146.1m through venture capital funding by 2015. This injection of liquidity provided Coursera with the resources to start providing assessments and grades on the platform for the vast majority of specialised courses in 2016. Incorporating a formal assessment process improved upon the virtual learning experience and provided comprehensive education to Coursera’s users. This was complemented by the introduction of a need-based financial aid system on the platform. Later that year, the platform introduced a subscription-based fee to users, which resulted in further growth for the company.
In mid-2016, Coursera expanded beyond its expertise of traditional academia and moved into the enterprise training sphere with Coursera for Business. This provided a significant monetisation stream for the company as it saw the beginning of strategic partnerships with major MNCs (Multinational Corporations) such as L’Oréal.
In 2017, Coursera once again expanded its operations, but into the Governmental and Non-Profit sector this time. Partnerships were set up with governmental organisations in the United States, Singapore, Pakistan and other major nations.
Coursera’s IPO and Covid-19: A “win-win” situation?
It is suggested that Coursera’s growth has immense upside potential regardless of how the COVID-19 pandemic continues. If transmission continues at concerning levels, resulting in lockdowns, Coursera has the potential to provide a comprehensive, accredited and highly-reviewed remote learning experience. As it is likely remote learning will be somewhat of a permanent fixture in modern society following the pandemic, Coursera has incredible potential to dominate this space due to its established platform, robust reputation and vast resources.
Alternatively, if the pandemic does begin to show signs of slowing down, Coursera provides a solution to the growing education-related debt, especially in the United States. The American Federal Reserve reported that in the 3rd financial quarter of 2020 alone, Americans owed up to $1.7tn in educational debt. The traditional undergraduate degree has proven to be increasingly unaffordable for the average individual, but Coursera offers an entirely virtual alternative that sufficiently combats the lack of affordability. With a variety of fully online undergraduate and master’s degrees, Coursera may be the perfect option for individuals looking to gain academic credentials, without taking on disproportionate personal debt.
Finally, in light of the ongoing political discourse on student debt in America, Coursera provides a solution that may sit well with a large proportion of the electorate, regardless of their political allegiance.
To keep up to date with the latest commercial news, click on commercial to get your daily dose.
Donate & Support