Education is the most powerful lance that keeps our world evolving. Modern technology has affected the entire educational process and has revolutionized the way people learn and work.

Today, there is a vast array of online platforms that offer endless learning opportunities. But, one Andrew Ng could smell that the job market is becoming highly competitive, yet, not as productive. To replace quantity with quality, he decided to create an educational platform that rises to every challenge at hand.

Coursera is a platform that delivers perfectly structured courses and unparalleled learning opportunities. It provides educational courses for all levels of expertise and skills - beginners to pros.

With a repertoire of course niches, including business and management, computer and data science, economics, and personal development, Coursera promises top-notch education to every corner of the globe.

Stay tuned for the remarkable story of Andrew Ng who pulled his best strings to make a true educational wonder out of Coursera.

Hungry for Knowledge

Andrew Ng is the name that breathed life into Coursera. Born in the UK in 1976, Andrew was raised by parents who are immigrants from Hong Kong. His childhood had a considerable impact on his overall course of life as well as his learning habits.

Andrew spent most of his early years in Singapore and Hong Kong, where he acquired all the education he needed. In 1992, Andrew graduated from Raffles Institution, Singapore, and 5 years later, he received an undergraduate degree with three majors - economics, statistics, and computer science from Carnegie Mellon University, Pennsylvania.

But, that wasn’t enough for Andrew, so, a year later, in 1998, he also earned a Master's degree from the highly renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge. While still at MIT, Andrew created his first publicly available web-search engine for examining papers on the web, and hungry for more knowledge, he enrolled at the University of California, where, in 2002, he received his Ph.D.

The moment Andrew started his career as an assistant professor at prominent Stanford University, he was struck by the fact that many people couldn’t educate themselves properly. To change that, he came up with the idea of creating a platform that can bring higher education closer to everyone's home and office.

Two People Sharing the Same Passion

Andrew didn’t feel that he was ready to create an online education platform on his own since it required a lot of work. The second he met Daphne Koller, a professor at Stanford University, Andrew saw that they shared the same business idea, so he was more than happy to share his plans and get Daphne’s support.

Daphne went to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and at the age of 17, she received a Bachelor's degree. In 1986, she received a Master's degree from the Hebrew University. Being one of the best students of her generation, in 1993, Daphne completed her Ph.D. at Stanford. Over the next two years, she even did her postdoctoral research at Berkeley.

In 2012, Andrew Ng came to the idea of creating an online educational platform available worldwide, and he finally managed to put his plan into motion with the help of Daphne.

Together, the duo founded Coursera, with Andrew serving as its president and Daphne as its co-CEO.

A Profitable Future in Education

In 2021, Coursera was officially in business. Andrew was amazed by the fast growth of Coursera and took pride in the platform’s ability to bring quality education to every corner of the world. A year after they introduced the platform, the company earned $1 million in revenue by selling verified certificates that validate successful course completion.

Andrew felt that Coursera was headed on the right path, which proved true in 2015 when the company raised $146.1 million in venture capital. Coursera’s business clients include Axis Bank, Boston Consulting Group, and L’Oréal. But, that’s not all, as that same year, a Coursera monthly subscription plan was launched, one aimed at course Specializations.

This came alongside a 1-week free trial and subsequent subscription costs based on the topic area chosen.

The Coursera Products

Since Andrew knew that some people can’t afford to pay their course fees, Coursera offered one of its main products as help - the Financial Aid model, serving the less fortunate yet equally eager to learn students.

By 2016, Coursera had also launched another original product called Coursera for Business, aimed at striving businessmen and professional educators.

Soon enough, the brand became the leading eLearning platform, armed with a range of essential courses, all the while offering competitive fees.

The surprises never end at Coursera, as its team also introduced the platform’s new Governments & Nonprofits model. Also, Andrew Ng has announced partnerships with the Institute for Veterans & Military Families in the US, as well as business entities in Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Malaysia, Singapore, Mongolia, and Egypt.

Currently, the cost for a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree via Coursera range from $9,000 to $45,000, but the company offers lots of professional skills programs and education certificates, ranging between $9.99 and $99.

With Jeff Maggioncalda as the new company CEO, a flood of revolutionary new ideas and concepts ensued. As a result, Coursera boomed all throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and became the leading educational platform online.

Successful Company IPO Debut

Joining the train of trends and apt business moves, Coursera filed for an IPO in March 2021. During its 9 years of existence, the company had generated about $293 million in revenue. Based on the filling, that is 59% higher than the revenue the brand indicated in 2019.

The shares of this gigantic eLearning company closed up 36% after their market debut on the New York Stock Exchange.

It was interesting to see that Coursera priced its 15.73 million shares for a price of $33 per piece, which ultimately helped it raise approximately $520 million - and a $4.3 billion valuation.

Coursera, Today

With about 2,000 employees and over 330 government agencies as partners across 30 US states and 70 countries, Coursera is a giant in the endless eLearning market.

In essence, Coursera takes true care of its customers - meaning learners - and nd even offers unemployed workers free-of-charge access to hundreds of thousands of learning courses. All Coursera users are free to choose their niche and take their pick from data science, technology, business skills, and personal development courses.

To this day, there are 92 million people around the world who have signed up for Coursera services.

Coursera is Looking at the Future

Coursera has already set its goals for the future. Namely, the educational pundit plans to add some extra courses and programs that will be a total hit in the future and will contribute to an even more thorough and designated education.

Not to forget, as one of their major plans, by the end of 2020, over 150 universities are estimated to launch up to 4,000 courses via the Coursera platform.

The Coursera team, with Andrew Ng front and center, sees its mission as a lifetime learning opportunity. Not just that, but it does its best efforts in keeping up with its obligation of serving quality education to the globe.

With the jolt of modern technology, Coursera created an array of opportunities for those willing to go the extra mile. Ultimately, it allows enthusiastic learners to educate themselves from the luxury of their own space, maximize their potential, and make the best investment they possibly can - by investing in themselves!