Coursera Partners with Tech Companies to Drive Professional Learning

The global e-learning market is expected to grow at 21% CAGR from $250 billion in 2020 to $1 trillion by the end of 2027. Coursera (NYSE: COUR) recently reported its quarterly results that show rapid growth as well.

Coursera’s Financials

Coursera recently announced its second-quarter results. Its Q2 revenues grew 38% to $102.1 million. Adjusted net loss was $6.9 million, compared to an adjusted net loss of $10.3 million a year ago.

By segment, consumer revenues grew 23% to $62 million. Enterprise revenues grew 69% to $28.2 million, and degrees revenues grew 78% to $11.9 million.

Coursera forecasts revenues of $105-$109 million for the third quarter, and $402-$410 million for the fiscal year.

Coursera’s Expanding Partnerships

Coursera recently announced a partnership with Facebook to launch a new Social Media Marketing Professional Certificate. The certificate is meant for learners without a college degree or prior experience to become eligible for social media marketing jobs within a couple of months. The 20-week program allows learners to discover social media marketing basics for several social platforms, in and outside, of the Facebook ecosystem.

It also announced a partnership with Salesforce, SV Academy, and IBM to launch two new entry-level Professional Certificates. Recent reports reveal that over half of the active workforce in the US does not have a college degree. The current pandemic has hurt this group more severely and their job loss rates are double that of those with college degrees. To help these people prepare for their careers better, these programs will train learners for well-paying, in-demand roles that are forecast to grow in the future.

Salesforce and SV Academy have launched a five-course program that integrates content from Trailhead, Salesforce’s free online learning platform, for a career in sales development. The certificate covers sales development representative basics, including how to prepare a professional portfolio and develop a personal brand, the Conversational Selling methodology, and tech tools. The Data Analyst certificate in partnership with IBM is a mix of theoretical coursework and hands-on labs, and aims at preparing learners for a data analyst role within nine months. The courses are priced at $49 a month and will also help Coursera expand its relationship with these tech players to bring job-relevant credentials to learners everywhere.

Coursera’s Competition

The Massive Online Open Courses (MooC) market currently has several key players. The big ones of note besides Coursera are EDX, Udacity, and Udemy. EDX was created in partnership between Harvard University and MIT and boasts of a broad range of higher education courses with many focusing on science studies. EDX’s biggest selling point is the availability of tools like videos and gamified labs that make learning fun. Earlier this year, EDX was acquired by education technology player 2U for an estimated $800 million. Today, the company boasts of over 3,000 courses, 35 million users, and 15,000 instructors.

Udemy, on the other hand, relies on crowdsourced content. Anyone, an expert or not, can publish a course on Udemy. It not only allows users to learn through its platform but also to earn money by offering courses. It has more than 50 million students accessing 150,000 courses created by over 42,000 instructors.

Udacity also offers a vast range of classes, but like EDX, its content is mostly focused on programming and computer science. Its paid programs include coaching, feedback, and verified certificates. It has partnered with several universities to create credited courses and helps learners become gainfully employed by offering nano degree courses for corporate partners like Google, Facebook, and AT&T. Last year, Udacity reached a milestone of 14 million users, 1.5 million projects completed, and over 170,000 Nanodegree certificates awarded.

Coursera has over 4,500 courses provided by 160 universities and 40 organizations to over 65 million learners globally. Its biggest advantage is its vast library of courses that are also targeted at improving employment opportunities for learners. Its affordable fee structure, coupled with the option of searching for financial aid helps attract learners.

Coursera’s stock is currently trading at $33.57, with a market capitalization of $4.62 billion. Coursera went public in March this year on the NYSE with a list price of $33. It had raised $520 million through its IPO, and was valued at $4.3 billion.

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