Udacity, Inc. was founded in June 2011 by Sebastian Thrun, David Stavens, and Mike Sokolsky. It began as an effort to offer free online education, initially starting with the “Introduction to Artificial Intelligence” course created by Stanford instructors Sebastian Thrun and Peter Norvig. This course quickly attracted over 160,000 students worldwide and demonstrated a global demand for accessible, high-quality education in technology and related fields.
The company’s mission has been to democratize education and make lifelong learning more equitable and inclusive by providing career-focused, skill-based learning opportunities on a global scale. Udacity developed its platform around upskilling talent for emerging tech careers, partnering with industry leaders to provide “Nanodegree” programs that prepare learners for real-world jobs in fields like artificial intelligence, data science, programming, autonomous systems, and cloud computing.
Udacity’s headquarters is located in Mountain View, California, USA. Since its inception, Udacity has grown significantly, raising over $235 million in funding rounds and expanding its offerings and global reach. In addition to its educational mission, Udacity has also engaged in innovative projects such as spinning off Voyage Auto, a self-driving car taxi venture.
Today, Udacity operates as part of Accenture, continuing to focus on providing tech education and career advancement opportunities, aiming to bridge the gap between traditional education and industry demands.