Coursera to buy Udemy, creating $2.5 billion firm to target AI training

Reuters ^ | 12/18/2025 | Akash Sriram

[SeekAndFind]

Online education platform Coursera (COUR.N), opens new tab said on Wednesday it would buy rival Udemy (UDMY.O), opens new tab in an all-stock deal, valuing the combined company at $2.5 billion, as the industry consolidates after a post-pandemic slowdown and heightened investor scrutiny.

Udemy shareholders would receive 0.8 shares of Coursera for each held, valuing the company at about $930 million, according to Reuters calculation. Coursera shares were up about 4%, while Udemy jumped nearly 22%.

Coursera and Udemy bet that a combined platform will be better positioned to capture corporate demand for workforce training, particularly in artificial intelligence, data science and software development, as employers invest in reskilling workers amid rapid advances in generative AI.

"At a high level it seems like this deal makes sense both strategically and financially. We have long viewed a combination of these two companies as compelling given their complementary content offerings and solutions, and the potential for significant cost synergies given overlapping end-markets," said Stephen Sheldon analyst at William Blair.

Based on Coursera's last close, the offer implies a price of $6.35 per Udemy share, a premium of roughly 18.3%. The companies said the deal is expected to close in the second-half of next year, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals.

Coursera, which partners with universities and institutions to offer degree programs and professional certificates, has increasingly focused on enterprise customers, while Udemy operates a marketplace of independent instructors selling individual courses and subscriptions to businesses.

Despite companies pitching AI upskilling as a major growth opportunity, investors have remained cautious on the sector. Shares of online education companies have lagged broader markets amid concerns over competition, pricing pressure and uncertain returns from AI-related investments.

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TOPICS: Business/Economy; Computers/Internet; Education; Society
KEYWORDS: acquisition; ai; coursera; udemy

[E. Pluribus Unum]

I have taken a couple of Udemy AI courses. They are pretty good, and pretty cheap if you don’t buy them when the prices are up. They have high prices for a few days, then drop them down to the 10-20 dollar range for a few days.

[bankwalker]

it depends on the instructor ... anyone can create a course and sell it on udemy ... anyone ...

[rlmorel]

I use Udemy a fair amount, but you are spot on, bankwalker.

I suggest to anyone looking to use Udemy, sample it before you buy it. I bought one without doing that, and it was a mistake. It was an Indian guy, and while I am not pre-disposed to being against Indians, it was awful. Flat, semi-understandable voice.

Nope.

Sample! Right now, I am taking a course on Fusion 360, and I like it very much.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Flat, semi-understandable voice.

I always run the captions myself. Two ways to get the information.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

That’s why you always look at how many have been sold. Ratings mean nothing anymore. They can be hacked.

[wally_bert]

I’ve had a Udemy personal account for a few years. Money well spent.

A good amount of the IT certifications I earned came from there.

My main instructors are Jason Dion and Andrew Ramadyal (sp?) for CompTIA stuff.

I never got that much from Coursera.

Udemy has a much better selection and layout.

[rlmorel]

That is true too. I do like the website. Very affordable and well laid out.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

I am looking for a good Vibe course. None of them on Udemy have sold many yet. Been looking on YouTube for free ones to get started.

[No.6]

For people tracking cycles, this is the part where consolidation happens. Coursera’s competitor, Udacity, is now owned by Accenture.

[StAnDeliver]

"I have taken a couple of Udemy AI courses. They are pretty good, and pretty cheap if you don’t buy them when the prices are up. They have high prices for a few days, then drop them down to the 10-20 dollar range for a few days."

And with Coursera's acquisition, those days over over. They bought Udemy because they believed they undervalued their courses (and also left a lot of stale shit up).

[E. Pluribus Unum]

I figured as much.