The Covid-19 pandemic led to a boom in online learning that increased revenue for educational technology company Coursera.
Coursera
Educational technology company Coursera presented its IPO prospectus at the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, and plans to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “COUR”.
The Mountain View, Calif.-Based company offers individuals access to online courses and degrees from leading universities, a business that thrived during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Coursera has made part of the CNBC Disruptor 50 list several times and, more recently, ranked 4th on the 2020 list.
The nine-year-old company generated about $ 293 million in revenue in the fiscal year ended December 31 – a growth rate of 59% compared to 2019, according to the document. Net losses increased by about $ 20 million year on year, reaching $ 66.8 million in 2020.
“Our revenue has increased significantly due mainly to an increase in enrollment numbers during the Covid-19 pandemic,” stated the company’s IPO prospectus. “Likewise, we have experienced a significant increase in our operating costs associated with our services, mainly driven by our freemium offerings and marketing efforts. As the pandemic has made remote work and online learning more widespread, the impact of reducing the Covid 19 pandemic could have on our operating results. “
The company said it added more than 12,000 new undergraduate students over the two years ending December 31, 2020 at an average acquisition cost of less than $ 2,000.
The total number of registered users grew 65% year-on-year in 2020.
According to PitchBook data, Coursera was most recently valued at $ 2.5 billion.
The company was founded by former Stanford University computer science professors, Daphne Koller and Andrew Ng. When Coursera was founded in 2012, both had spent enough time in higher education to realize that change was lagging behind and that online learning was a good way to go.
As of December 31, 2020, more than 150 universities offered more than 4,000 courses through Coursera, which offers more than two dozen degree programs at prices lower than many on-site school offerings. A bachelor’s or master’s degree completed by Coursera can range in cost from $ 9,000 to $ 45,000, according to the prospectus.
During the pandemic, Coursera also partnered with more than 330 government agencies in 70 countries and 30 U.S. states and cities as part of the Coursera Workforce Recovery Initiative, which helps governments provide unemployed workers with free access to thousands of courses for business, technology and data scientific skills from companies like Amazon and Google.
It also offers a wide variety of education certificates and professional skills courses with prices ranging from $ 9.99 to $ 99.
“While the impact of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic is severe, widespread and continues to evolve, it has accelerated the need for education provided online. Both individuals and institutions have trusted and continue to rely on online learning to navigate change and disruption. “, states the company’s IPO prospectus.
The number of shares and the price range of the proposed offer have not yet been determined. Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup are listed as the main subscribers.