Simplilearn announces $10 Mn deal to acquire Market Motive

Simplilearn, a leading global tech-ed company today announced a $10 million deal to acquire Market Motive, a pioneering Silicon Valley-based digital marketing training company that counts Google’s Digital Marketing Evangelist, Avinash Kaushik as a co-founder. The merged company, which has already helped more than 400,000 professionals in over 150 countries see $4 billion worth of pay raises, is turning its attention to an expanded presence in the U.S. where it can offer a turnkey solution to working professionals and college graduates who are trying to advance in their careers.

With the acquisition of Market Motive, Simplilearn, which already has an impressive catalog of over 250 online courses across industries and functions, augments its offerings in the booming digital marketing field, where the global digital advertising spend is projected to reach $278 billion in 2019 with courses in Social Media Marketing, Digital Advertising Web Analytics, and Marketing Automation.

Market Motive will continue to operate as an independent arm of Simplilearn with co-founder Michael Stebbins staying on as CEO along with his entire team. Michael will also join Simplilearn as the Chief Innovation Officer and work alongside the company’s Director of U.S operations, Prashant Parmar in strengthening Simplilearn’s presence further in North America. “Our focus continues to providing a wide range of short term certification-based courses that have a direct impact on the learners’ career,” said Krishna Kumar, Founder & CEO of Simplilearn.

“The digital marketing ecosystem is at the tipping point and this is the right time for us to expand our products in this hot segment. We are impressed with Market Motive’s enriched content and domain expertise backed by industry experts apart from their approach towards online training, which fits strongly with our business strategy. We are excited about this opportunity to help and drive profitable growth, thus further enhancing value for Market Motive’s and Simplilearn’s customers.”

Based in Silicon Valley, Market Motive was co-founded in 2007 by Michael Stebbins, John Marshall and Avinash Kaushik. It builds curriculum that trains professionals on digital marketing, and has delivered web-based certification programs to Fortune 500 companies, including Microsoft, Home Depot, Dell, Ogilvy, Federal Express and JP Morgan Chase, and education institutes like Duke University, Benedictine University and Concordia University. The courses and certification provide authoritative cross training in SEO, web analytics, social media marketing, conversion optimization, mobile marketing, PPC advertising, and content marketing.

Michael Stebbins, Co-Founder & CEO of Market Motive said, “Market Motive set out to change the way the world learns digital marketing, and we've achieved this in many ways. Seeing how Simplilearn has scaled in helping 400,000+ people get certified and boost their careers and pay is nothing short of astounding.  We look forward to providing an even higher level of service, an ever-expanding list of certifications, and an enhanced customer experience through improved video delivery, user experience, and customer support. As a hiring manager, I see the need for short-term certification to put knowledgeable workers in higher-paying roles. Degree or not, the economic value of these courses is huge and it is rewarding to see lives changed through the training.” 

In April 2015, Simplilearn raised $15 million in Series C funding led by Mayfield, with participation from Kalaari Capital and Helion Venture Partners to expand rapidly in the U.S and other primary markets.

“Digital Marketing is a key growth strategy for most organizations today and is driving the demand for certified professionals across the industry. Short term online courses that position the participant as an expert are the future of professional education,” says Navin Chaddha, Managing Director of Mayfield. “Market Motive adds a fast-growing online marketing training vertical to Simplilearn as they meet a demand for e-learning expected to exceed $169 billion by 2018.”

As a destination for certification training courses, Simplilearn caters to professionals across industries and functions. It offers 250+ courses, led by more than 2,000 qualified trainers and has over 40 global accreditations. It is a first choice destination for professionals seeking certification training for a range of sought after courses from Advanced Cloud Computing to Six Sigma to Big Data. With the addition of Market Motive, it has enhanced its course catalogue with analytics, online and digital marketing.