Lynda.com (now LinkedIn Learning)

Lynda.com is a pioneering online education platform that transformed how professional development and technology skills are acquired globally. Founded by Lynda Weinman and Bruce Heavin, the company began as a physical school for digital arts before transitioning to a massive library of video-based learning content. Its success proved the viability of subscription-based online learning models long before they became industry standard.

In 2015, the professional networking giant LinkedIn acquired Lynda.com for $1.5 billion, integrating its vast library of courses into the LinkedIn ecosystem. This move allowed LinkedIn to provide educational value directly to its users' professional profiles. Shortly thereafter, Microsoft acquired LinkedIn, bringing Lynda.com (now branded as LinkedIn Learning) under the ultimate control of one of the world's largest technology corporations. Today, it remains a cornerstone of corporate and individual skill acquisition, headquartered primarily alongside LinkedIn's operations in California.