Udemy [NASDAQ: UDMY]

Online education has transformed the vision of a world where learning is just a click away into an everyday reality. It has reshaped pedagogies across academic and professional spaces by making learning more accessible and flexible. In this evolving landscape, Udemy stands out as a platform that offers affordable, skill-based courses designed to engage learners on their own terms. With over 250,000 courses covering a range of fields, from programming and business to personal development and IT certifications, its learner-centric approach ensures education remains interactive, personalized and cost-effective.

Long before smartphones and Wi-Fi, distance education planted seeds that would one day become a global revolution. In the 1840s, Sir Isaac Pitman pioneered the concept, offering shorthand lessons by mail. Over time, new technologies—from radio and television to university-level remote programs—pushed educational boundaries. Yet the pivot to fully virtual instruction brought fresh challenges: students craved human connection, and courses needed to stay affordable. Udemy addresses both by incorporating video, videoconferencing and AI-driven tools to create an immersive, engaging experience that mirrors in-person interaction. Unlike passive platforms, it encourages active participation and authentic engagement, including the optional use of cameras to foster personal connections.

Flexible Solutions for Individuals and Businesses

In an era of rapid change, individuals and organizations demand learning that adapts to their evolving needs. Udemy capitalizes on this opportunity, supporting over 16,000 companies and millions of learners worldwide, including renowned corporations like Volkswagen, Samsung, CISCO, Vimeo, P&G and Ericsson. This broad appeal stems from its comprehensive range of courses for everyone—from absolute beginners to seasoned professionals—and specialized exam prep for certifications like CompTIA and AWS Cloud. Businesses embrace its practical, skill-focused curriculum to upskill their teams quickly and affordably, with the Udemy for Business program supporting over half of the Fortune 100. Through this program, organizations gain curated content, robust tracking tools and interactive course features that boost employee engagement and performance.

Individuals, entrepreneurs and freelancers also benefit from Udemy’s flexibility. Its user-friendly interface and mobile accessibility empower learners to study anytime, anywhere, at their own pace. This structure allows users to explore topics in depth without sacrificing quality, whether they are pivoting careers, seeking certifications or enhancing leadership abilities.

Expert Instructors and Practical Skill Building

Nothing accelerates learning more than experts who bridge theory with practical, real-world applications. Udemy's expert instructors understand this when crafting engaging course materials. They employ various teaching methods—video lectures, quizzes, coding exercises and practice tests—to keep learners actively involved. Direct interaction with instructors through Q&A sessions and messaging further enhances engagement, offering personalized guidance and support.

While some competing platforms focus on accredited certificates, Udemy emphasizes immediately applicable skills. This makes it particularly appealing for professionals looking to advance their careers swiftly and affordably. Its offerings include technical fields like data science, web development and business analytics, as well as soft skills such as leadership, communication and personal growth.

For organizations, it provides structured learning paths aligned with specific job functions. Built-in analytics let companies monitor employee progress and ensure the training translates into real-world results. In essence, Udemy helps businesses maintain a competitive edge in an ever-changing market by prioritizing outcome-based education.

A Proven Track Record of L&D Excellence

One of Udemy’s treasured clients is Calybre, a leading data technology consultancy renowned for its expert, unbiased advice across the data domain. With a fully remote workforce in the UK and South Africa, it needed a scalable, consistent learning and development program to equip its team with the skills to meet evolving market demands in data analytics, engineering, machine learning and AI.

To address this, Calybre adopted Udemy Business as its primary L&D platform, which gave it access to a vast course catalog, customizable content and pre-built Learning Paths. New employees spend their first four months completing foundational courses on critical topics such as data security and analytics, blending online learning with practical capstone projects. Teams also use Udemy to prepare for certifications in technologies like Google Cloud, AWS and Snowflake, ensuring expertise in core technologies.

This commitment to learning extends throughout employees’ careers, with dedicated time allocated for upskilling across all roles. Employees are encouraged to explore emerging topics, such as Generative AI, aligning their expertise with market trends and client demands. Over two years, Calybre’s workforce has logged over 10,000 learning hours, averaging 300 hours per employee annually, and achieved an impressive 93 percent adoption rate.

“We used Udemy Business’ Learning Paths to create a foundational set of courses that everyone completes in their first four months at Calybre —with 100 percent of this time spent learning. This helps us ensure everyone has the key skills they need for their roles across topics crucial to our business, including data security, data engineering, analytics, and machine learning,” said Ryan Jamieson, CTO and Co-Founder of Calybre.

Innovation and AI-Powered Learning

In a world where technology evolves overnight, AI stands at the forefront of reinventing how we learn.

At the core of the company's success is its commitment to innovation, driven by AI-powered tools like the AI Learning Assistant. These tools personalize learning by offering targeted feedback, summarizing essential points and suggesting tailored content based on each learner’s needs. Frequent platform updates informed by user feedback keep Udemy’s offerings aligned with current industry demands.

Inspired by co-founder Eren Bali’s journey—from a small Turkish village to winning a silver medal at the International Math Olympiad—Udemy remains dedicated to democratizing education. Bali and co-founders Oktay Caglar and Gagan Biyani built the platform to make top-quality learning accessible to all. This vision continues to shape Udemy’s evolution, fueling its global impact on individuals, businesses and industry sectors at large.

When education breaks barriers of distance and cost, the world becomes a limitless classroom. Udemy’s dynamic course library, expert-led instruction and AI-driven tools cater to learners seeking an affordable, flexible and engaging path to new skills. Trusted by top organizations like Nasdaq, Box and Eventbrite, it empowers businesses to stay competitive by cultivating a future-ready workforce. With a focus on practical learning, innovation and global accessibility, Udemy is redefining online education—helping people everywhere unlock their potential and succeed in a rapidly changing world.