Simplilearn buys US-based digital marketing training firm Market Motive in $10-m deal

Education technology company Simplilearn has bought Silicon Valley-based firm Market Motive, a leader in digital marketing training, for $10 million. The acquisition will lead to Simplilearn gaining presence in the US market.

The company already offers more than 250 online courses across industries, domains and functions. Joining forces with Market Motive will translate to augmented offerings by both companies. The deal brings digital marketing courses in social media marketing, digital advertising web analytics and marketing automation to more working professionals and graduates seeking to advance their careers.

Global digital advertising spend is projected to reach more than $275 billion by 2019, according to some sources.

“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 content and domain expertise… apart from their approach towards online training, which fits strongly with our business strategy,” said Krishna Kumar, Founder & CEO of Simplilearn.

Market Motive, co-founded in 2007 by Michael Stebbins, John Marshall and Avinash Kaushik, will continue to operate as an independent arm of Simplilearn.

Stebbins will stay on as CEO of Market Motive but will also take charge as Simplilearn’s Chief Innovation Officer to work alongside its Director of US operations, Prashant Parmar and help expand business in North America.

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 large numbers of people get certified and boost their careers… we want to continue enhancing customer experience through improved video delivery, user experience, and customer support.”

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 US and other primary markets.

Mayfield’s Managing Director Navin Chaoddha shares, “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.”

However, the big leap towards acquisitions was made after Simplilearn was able to achieve its current level of scale with the help of over 2,000 qualified trainers. It has reportedly helped about four lakh professionals in over 150 countries see $4 billion worth pay rises. And acquisitions are a large part of the company’s way forward. Kumar would like to see one more $10-million deal closed before the this year-end.

Earlier this year, LinkedIn announced that it would acquire lynda.com. The latter delivers online learning and allows people to achieve professional goals by enhancing their creative, business and technology skills. This was approximately a $ 1.5 billion deal. Simplilearn’s Krishna Kumar terms the development “a good thing”.

“It serves to establish the online training business as a sector by itself,” he says.

Ranging from Six Sigma to Advanced Cloud Computing to Big Data courses and spanning vendors, industries, functions and platforms, Simplilearn’s B2C offshore model has ensured a majority of its business comes from other markets, and primarily the US – a track record that primed it for its first ever acquisition.

“You can go to learning platforms to acquire knowledge about anything and everything. But we certify people for the roles they want to take on. Our courses are application-based, result-oriented and industry-relevant and have a direct impact on the learner’s career,” Kumar says.