Two of the biggest online training platforms are merging in anticipation of a huge AI reskilling wave

Coursera and Udemy have agreed to a merger to build a $2.5 billion online education platform to help workers reskill in AI.

The all-stock deal will value the combined company at $2.5bn and is expected to close in the middle of next year. Shares in both initially jumped, but Coursera's stock price later slipped 11%.

Consolidation in the tech training industry has been long expected, but both companies suggested the move was designed to prepare for a flood of workers requiring reskilling because of AI – but also to use the technology to supercharge skills development.

"We’re at a pivotal moment in which AI is rapidly redefining the skills required for every job across every industry," said Greg Hart, CEO of Coursera, in a statement.

"Organizations and individuals around the world need a platform that is as agile as the new and emerging skills learners must master."

"By combining the highly complementary strengths of Coursera and Udemy, we will be in an even stronger position to address the global talent transformation opportunity, unlock a faster pace of innovation, and deliver valuable experiences and outcomes for our learners and customers," Hart added.

"Together, we will ensure our millions of learners, thousands of enterprise, university, and government customers, and expert instructors have a platform to keep pace with technology acceleration."

Hugo Sarrazin, CEO of Udemy, added that as a unified platform, the duo can “accelerate our AI-powered product roadmap” and expand global reach.

Sensible consolidation

Coursera already offers courses on using AI, including a range of machine learning specializations. The company recently announced a deal with Anthropic for a program to learn how to use Claude Code.

Similarly, Udemy already uses AI to manage its marketplace of courses.

While the two companies have many similarities, Coursera offers degree programs and professional certificates from universities and other traditional education routes, while Udemy offers a marketplace for instructors to offer their own courses.

"At a high level it seems like this deal makes sense both strategically and financially," Stephen Sheldon, analyst at William Blair, told Reuters.

"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."

AI upskilling demand

AI has long been expected to lead to a shift in the jobs market, leading to some roles disappearing and marked changes in others.

Recent analysis from Gartner, for example, found that from 2028 onwards, roughly 32 million jobs each year will be “reconfigured, redesigned, or fused”.

Rapid integration of the technology across an array of professions will create a period of flux in the global jobs market, the consultancy warned, but will result in more jobs being created long-term as roles are transformed.

Similar research from IBM noted that most workers will have around three years to upskill and retrain to accommodate for the technology, with business leaders expecting that around 40% of their workforce will need to reskill to build AI-related skills.

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Make sure to follow ITPro on Google News to keep tabs on all our latest news, analysis, and reviews.

You can also follow ITPro on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, and BlueSky.