Skillshare
New York, US Β· Founded 2010 Β· Delaware corporation Β· 17 known investors
Skillshare is a New York-based subscription online learning community offering video classes in creative disciplines.
Also known as Skillshare, Inc.
Founders & leadership
Skillshare was founded in 2010 by Michael Karnajaprakorn.
Board
Investors Β· 17
Also in the syndicate Β· 7
Reported raises Β· per SEC filings
Form D private placements$83.5M disclosed across 3 of 8 rounds Β· 2011β2020
βΆ$66.2MraisedAug 2020 Β· 6 investors Β· Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
- Saar PikarDirector
- Ramanan RaghavendranDirector
- Michael KarnjanaprakornDirector
- Matt CooperExecutive Officer, Director
- Anand GhandiExecutive Officer
- Albert WengerDirector
- Offering amount
- $66.2M
- Amount sold
- $66.2M
- Finders' fees
- $2.5M
- Placement agents
- Citigroup Global Markets Inc.
- First sale
- Jul 2020
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
βΆ$11.2MraisedMay 2016 Β· 8 investors Β· Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
- Alex FinkelsteinDirector
- Albert WengerDirector
- Ramanan RaghavendranDirector
- Michael KarnajaprakornExecutive Officer, Director
- Offering amount
- $12M
- Amount sold
- $11.2M
- First sale
- May 2016
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
βΆ$6.1MraisedFeb 2014 Β· 11 investors Β· Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
- Michael KarnjanaprakornExecutive Officer, Director
- Moshe KoyfmanDirector
- Albert WengerDirector
- Offering amount
- $6.1M
- Amount sold
- $6.1M
- First sale
- Feb 2014
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware, 2010
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
Source: SEC EDGAR Form D. Amounts as filed; amended filings shown once at their latest values.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Skillshare is a US-based online learning community that provides video-based, largely project-oriented classes across creative disciplines including illustration, graphic design, animation, film and video, photography, fine art, music, crafts, creative writing, UI/UX design, marketing, productivity, and freelancing/entrepreneurship. Courses are unaccredited and, since September 2021, are available only to users with a paid membership or an active free trial. Learning is organized around hands-on class projects, learning paths, and completion certificates, with community features for sharing work, giving feedback, and following teachers.
The platform is an open marketplace: any qualified creative or professional can apply to publish classes, and teachers are supported with planning, filming, uploading, and promotion resources through a Creator Hub and help center. Beyond core class subscriptions, Skillshare operates a Shop where teachers sell one-on-one sessions and digital products, a student and teacher referral program, gift memberships, and Skillshare for Teams, an enterprise offering with tiered team plans, seat administration, and an Insights reporting feature. The service is delivered via the web and iOS/Android apps that support offline viewing, cross-device progress sync, and a mini viewer.
Skillshare's site reports 425,000+ members, 30,000+ classes, and 9,000+ teachers, while its 2020 funding announcement cited more than 12 million registered members, 8,000 teachers, over 30,000 classes, and more than 200,000 uploaded student projects. Third-party profiles report 35,000 courses as of 2021 and availability in more than 180 countries.
Founding story
Michael Karnjanaprakorn and Malcolm Ong founded Skillshare in New York City in November 2010, with the site going live in April 2011. Karnjanaprakorn had led the product team at Hot Potato, acquired by Facebook, and Ong had been a product manager at OMGPop. The company began as a marketplace for offline, in-person classes before moving online.
Business model
Skillshare runs a two-sided marketplace in which independent teachers publish video classes and learners buy access through a recurring membership. Teachers are compensated under a teacher payment policy that includes earnings from teaching, referrals, Skillshare Shop sales, and partnership revenue; the help center references an earnings update effective January 1, 2026 and exploration of AI partnerships announced in February 2025 to expand teacher revenue opportunities.
Subscription memberships billed automatically on a recurring basis (annual plans on the web following a free trial, with monthly options available in-app), plus enterprise Skillshare for Teams plans, gift and corporate gift cards, and marketplace transactions for one-on-one sessions and digital products. Wikipedia notes the 2014 shift from pay-per-course to a $9.95/month membership model.
Traction
425k+ members, 30k+ classes, 9k+ teachers and a 4.8 App Store rating per the company site; 1M+ Android downloads and a 4.7 rating from 58.6K reviews on Google Play. Historic figures include 5 million users in May 2016, 12 million registered members and 8,000 teachers in August 2020, and 35,000 courses as of 2021.
Latest developments
Paul Slavin was named chief executive officer in August 2025, succeeding Matt Cooper after eight years. Teacher-facing announcements include an AI partnership exploration to expand teacher revenue (February 2025), a Creator Hub for content management, and a Skillshare teacher earnings update effective January 1, 2026. The Android app was last updated August 14, 2025, and site pages carry a 2026 copyright.
βΈFull profile β market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Positioned as a large creative-skills learning community; company materials in 2020 described it as the world's largest online learning community for creativity, and third-party profiles describe it as a leading ed-tech platform. It is compared with Coursera, FutureLearn, LinkedIn Learning and Udemy.
Community- and project-based learning rather than lecture-only content, an open instructor marketplace with no formal credential requirement, and a focus specifically on creative disciplines; the 2020 funding release cited signature workshops and peer feedback as differentiators from other online learning platforms.
Technology
Web platform and native mobile applications supporting video streaming, offline downloads, cross-device progress synchronization, class projects and discussions, teacher tooling for class uploads and drafts, discount codes, and a Creator Hub for content management; reCAPTCHA is used on signup.
Go-to-market
Direct-to-consumer self-serve signup with free trials and social login, mobile app distribution on Google Play and iOS, affiliate and partnership programs, student and teacher referral programs, and teacher-driven promotion of classes; enterprise sales through Skillshare for Teams, whose sales the company said were nearly doubling year over year in 2020.
Individual creative hobbyists and professionals seeking practical skills, teachers and creators who want to monetize expertise, and companies purchasing team learning; the 2020 release named business customers such as GM Financial, VICE, AWS, Lululemon, American Crafts and Benefit, and other coverage cites Staples, Mailchimp, Evernote and Disney as organizations using the platform for employee development.
Geography
Headquartered at 215 Park Ave S, Fl 11, New York, NY 10003, United States, serving learners worldwide; one profile cites availability in more than 180 countries, and 2020 funding was earmarked partly for localized experiences for international students.
History
Skillshare held the Penny Conference on educational reform in April 2012 and launched online courses in August 2012. By April 2013 it hosted over 150 courses and launched a School of Design; it also partnered with Levi's on a School of MakeOurMark. In March 2014 it replaced pay-per-course pricing with a $9.95 monthly membership, and later that year opened the platform to any instructor and added a limited free membership tier. It reported 5 million users in May 2016 and, by March 2019, over 27,000 premium and more than 2,000 free classes. A brand repositioning toward the creative community occurred in early 2020, followed by a $66 million Series D in August 2020. In September 2021 the free class tier was discontinued. Matt Cooper served as CEO before Paul Slavin was appointed CEO in August 2025.
Risks & controversies
Google Play reviews raise complaints about pricing and billing practices, including the removal of monthly web plans in favor of annual billing, a reported $49 monthly in-app price, and lack of notice before trial-to-paid conversion with refunds declined. The help center documents scam alerts regarding fake Skillshare influencer and sponsorship emails. Courses are unaccredited, and the September 2021 removal of free class access restricted previously free content.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources β announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed β not independently audited.
Founder mafia
The Skillshare mafia β6 people who came through Skillshare went on to found or lead other companies.
Competitors Β· 3
by search overlap
Companies competing with Skillshare for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.
Timeline Β· 15
launches, deals, and filingsA Skillshare teacher earnings update becomes effective January 1, 2026.
Paul Slavin was named chief executive officer, replacing Matt Cooper after eight years.
Skillshare announced to teachers that it is exploring AI partnerships to create additional teacher revenue opportunities.
Skillshare introduced Creator Hub as a central place for teachers to manage their content.
Skillshare ended free access to classes, requiring a paid membership or free trial to view all courses.
Funding earmarked for localization for international students, domestic expansion, growth of the Skillshare for Teams enterprise offering, and teacher tools. Saar Pikar of OMERS joined the board; Citigroup was exclusive financial advisor.
$66M source β
In early 2020 Skillshare repositioned its brand around creativity; the company reported new member sign-ups tripling and existing members watching three times as many lessons.
Skillshare replaced pay-per-course pricing with a $9.95 per month membership model.
Skillshare became an open platform allowing anyone to teach and introduced a free membership tier with limited monthly class access.
Skillshare launched its School of Design; by April 2013 the platform hosted over 150 courses.
Skillshare partnered with Levi's to launch the School of MakeOurMark, covering photography, tattooing and illustration.
Skillshare launched online (hybrid) classes, initially 15 self-paced online courses built around collaborative projects.
Skillshare held the Penny Conference featuring Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Codecademy co-founder Zach Sims, and Pencils of Promise founder Adam Braun.
Michael Karnjanaprakorn and Malcolm Ong started Skillshare in New York City as a platform for offline courses.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
Legal entities Β· 1
corporate structureIn the news
βΈResearch sources Β· 8
primary sources listed
- Online Classes for Creatives | Skillshareskillshare.com Β· web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Skillshare do?
- Skillshare is a New York-based subscription online learning community offering video classes in creative disciplines.
- Who founded Skillshare?
- Skillshare was founded by Michael Karnajaprakorn in 2010.
- Who are Skillshare's investors?
- Skillshare's investors include Burda Principal Investments, Founder Collective, Kickstart Ventures, Menlo Group, Runway Growth Capital, Top Corner Capital, Union Square Ventures (USV), VTF Capital and 2 more.
- How much funding has Skillshare raised?
- Skillshare has disclosed $83.5M raised across 3 of its 8 known rounds.
- Where is Skillshare headquartered?
- Skillshare is headquartered in New York, US.