Pluralsight, a global leader in online training for technology professionals, announced the acquisition of Oklahoma City-based Digital-Tutors, the premier online training resource for creative professionals. The $45 million acquisition — Pluralsight’s fourth in eight months — marks the company’s debut in the market for creative learning. Digital-Tutors’ more than 1,500 creative skills courses will double Pluralsight’s existing catalog of nearly 1,500 developer and IT-oriented courses, forming the world’s largest curated e-learning library for professionals, academic institutions, and businesses of all sizes.
The acquisition of Digital-Tutors comes on the heels of a year of tremendous growth for
Pluralsight, signifying the company’s strategy for rapid expansion in the booming e-learning industry, which Global Industry Analysts (GIA) projects to be a $107 billion market in 2015. Since posting $16 million in subscription-based billings in 2012, Pluralsight experienced triple-digit growth in 2013 and is on trajectory to do the same in 2014. In the last eight months, the company acquired three other online learning platforms: PeepCode, a provider of open-source developer courses; Tekpub, a screencast publisher for developers; and TrainSignal, an IT training company that came to Pluralsight in a $23.6 million deal. The Digital-Tutors purchase is Pluralsight’s largest to-date.
“Bringing Digital-Tutors on board has positioned Pluralsight as a complete solution for professional technology and creative skills training,” said Pluralsight CEO and co-founder Aaron Skonnard. “In the competitive e-learning space, where most companies have brought skills training to beginning and mid-level enthusiasts, we are cementing our status as a career catalyst and go-to resource for the serious professional.”
Digital-Tutors is an e-learning platform that provides training for individuals, universities and businesses, including Pixar, DreamWorks, Rockstar Games and Electronic Arts. With creative courses ranging from motion graphics to 3D animation to visualization to digital painting, the company provides expert-level training for professionals in the movie, game, AEC and product design, and digital art spaces. Since its founding in 2000, Digital-Tutors has kept at the forefront of creative technology by forming partnerships with leading software and hardware providers, including Autodesk, Wacom, Maxon, The Foundry and Pixologic.
“We are thrilled to join Pluralsight,” said Piyush Patel, CEO and founder of Digital-Tutors. “We’ve found a company that’s as passionate about changing lives through online learning as we are, and this opportunity will allow us to continue that mission on a whole new scale. The artists, designers, students and businesses that have relied on us for over 13 years will now have even more resources to meet the high expectations and demands of today’s creative industries.”
Effective immediately, active customers of both platforms will be able to access the two e-libraries at no additional cost. Digital-Tutors’ 30 employees will join the Pluralsight team to form the backbone of the company’s new creative content engine. Digital-Tutors’ premier network of creative skills instructors, who have worked on blockbuster films, top games and award-winning projects, are expected to join Pluralsight’s network of 330 expert authors. In addition, Digital-Tutors CEO and Founder Piyush Patel will join Pluralsight as the senior VP of creative operations.
Founded in 2004 as a classroom-based training company, Pluralsight moved online in 2008 and grew organically before taking $27.5 million in Series A funding from Insight Venture Partners in December 2012. Since then, Pluralsight has grown its already profitable business into one of the world’s largest professional training platforms.
