2U is an American company founded in 2008 for providing educational services. The founders of the company are John Katzman, Jeremy Johnson, and Christopher J. Paucek. The main idea behind founding 2U is to provide proper online degree and non-degree programs. Its headquarters is based in Lanham, Maryland, US and it is currently serving users on a global scale. 2U mainly provided a SaaS platform to its clients (educational institutions) and along with coursework design and infrastructure support.
About 2U
2U has always focussed on providing top-quality online education and services by establishing contracts with top-tier partners. Recently, the company has acquired edX (an American MOOCs provider that was created by Harvard and MIT) which has led to its exposure to a broader audience base and hence more opportunity for growth. 2U to date has collaborated with more than 230 top-class universities to create approximately 3,500 digital programs. The company has more than 40 million global learners who are benefiting from the services of 2U. Recently, the company has also announced a partnership with the University of Singapore intending to expand online professional education.
Early Days
In 2008, the co-founder of The Princeton Review, John Katzman founded 2U originally naming it 2tor after his pet dog. He decided to bring two other important members on board who were Christopher Paucek who was the former CEO of Hooked on Phonics and Jeremy Johnson, a tech entrepreneur. These three together became the co-founders of 2U.
When they started the company, Paucek became the CEO of the business and he is continuing to be so even today. The co-founders saw this business sector as a good opportunity and during that time there were very few top-tier universities that provided online instruction. In 2009, the company rolled out its first online teaching degree in collaboration with the University of Southern California (USC). Later, the company again collaborated with USC to launch an online degree in social work.
In 2011 two new universities partnered with 2U, namely, Georgetown University’s School of Nursing and Health and Kenan-Flagler Business School (University of North Carolina). The latter started offering an online MBA degree through 2U. In 2012, John Katzman left the 2U team to launch Noodle Partners (a company in the education management sector).
Success and Growth
As the number of universities partnered with 2U kept increasing every day, the company became more famous. This eventually led the company to raise $10 million in venture capital in 2013 and went public in the next year by offering 9.2 million shares. In the same year, two new members joined the board of the company, Sallie Krawcheck, and Earl Lewis. By the end of 2014 schools like Northwestern University and the University of California, Berkeley signed up with 2U for offering online degrees. In 2015, Yale University partnered with 2U to offer a full-time, online master of medical science degree. By the end of the year, more than 12,000 students enrolled in the 2U platform.
In 2017, as a part of 2U’s strategy, it started acquiring education companies. It included GetSmarter and Trilogy Education. In 2018, the company partnered with Harvard University to offer the Harvard Business Analytics Program (HBAP) for experienced professionals. It also tied up with the University of London to offer its first undergraduate program. The company witnessed a large growth in its gross revenue during 2020 because of the shifting of education to online learning. To expand 2U more in the online marketplace, it acquired edX in June 2021 for $800 million in cash.
About the Founders
John Katzman is a famous personality in the American EdTech sector who has established many companies to assist students with their careers. He attended Princeton University and later co-founded The Princeton Review and served as its CEO until 2007. He is currently the CEO of The Noodle Companies.
Jeremy Johnson apart from co-founding 2U also co-founded Andela and currently serving as its CEO. He was featured in Forbes 30 under 30 for two years consecutively.
Christopher Paucek is the co-founder and current CEO of 2U. He received several highly-rated CEO awards from Glassdoor. In 1993, he co-founded his first company, Cerebellum Corporation, and also served as the CEO of Smarterville Inc before co-founding 2U.
Annasha Dey is an NIT student, who apart from studying engineering is also a content writer. She has a great interest in photography, writing, reading novels, and travelling as well. She is a foodie who loves socializing and hanging out with her friends. She is also a trained Kathak dancer and a big fashion enthusiast. Dey also loves watching TV series, which includes F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and Big Bang Theory. To be a better writer she prefers to read more