:Online learning company Udemy Inc was valued at US$3.7 billion after its shares opened 7per cent below their offer price in their Nasdaq debut on Friday.
San Francisco, California-based Udemy's shares opened at US$27, down from the initial public offering price of US$29. The company sold 14.5 million shares priced at the top end of a price range announced earlier, raising nearly US$421 million. The company is the latest in a string of online education firms which have gone public in the last year, joining the likes of Coursera Inc and Nerdy Inc looking to cash in on the surge in demand during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Udemy which offers 183,000 courses on its platform in 75 languages across 180 countries competes with Pluralsight, Skillsoft Corp and LinkedIn Learning for its corporate training business and with Coursera and edX in its consumer-facing marketplace.