Instructure

Instructure is an educational technology company founded in 2008. It is the developer and publisher of Canvas, an LMS for schools, universities, and institutions, and a ‘massive open online course’ (MOOC) platform. With more than one million active users, the Canvas Community is the largest user community in education. Instructure began trading publicly in November 2015 but ceased trading when it was acquired by Thoma Bravo LLC, a private equity and growth capital firm, in March 2020. In June 2021, Instructure filed a Form S-1 with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to re-list on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker “INST.” In 2020, Instructure served more than 6,000 customers worldwide, and Canvas had more than 30 million K-12 and university users. As of August 2020, 13 US states offered Canvas LMS as a statewide solution.

Instructure’s portfolio of offerings complements Canvas: MasteryConnect is the company’s student assessment platform acquired in 2019, while MasterView Assessments, a tool that allows teachers to evaluate and close students’ learning gaps due to the Covid-19 pandemic was launched in April 2021. In October 2020, it launched the Canvas Certified Educator program for K-12 and higher education. The company introduced "Impact by Instructure" in July 2021, following the acquisition of Amsterdam-based EesySoft, a technology adoption vendor that assists teachers and students with using EdTech products including Canvas. It also launched the Edtech Collective, a community of companies and educators where members gain access to new capabilities and perks. Later, in November 2021, Instructure offered “Elevate Data Sync,” which allows the secure syncing of data between applications and student information systems (SIS), through the acquisition of Kimono, a cloud-based data integration platform. In December 2022, the firm acquired LearnPlatform, a developer of a SaaS EdTech effectiveness system for educators and administrators to help them organize, streamline, and analyze EdTech tools. In November 2023, Instructure acquired Parchment, a leader in digital education records, to provide a verifiable, comprehensive digital passport for learners.

In February 2021, the company sold Bridge, its corporate LMS for mid-enterprise organizations launched in 2015, to UK-based Learning Technologies Group, and exited the corporate learning market to refocus on the K-12 and higher ed markets.

Key customers and partnerships

As an industry leader in partnerships, in 2020, the company expanded its collaboration with Microsoft, and formed a partnership with Copyleaks Inc., provider of an AI-powered plagiarism detection solution, allowing Canvas users to access these services within their account. Instructure also acquired longtime partner Certica Solutions, a provider of K-12 standards-based assessments, assessment item banks, and learning analytics. The acquisition allows Instructure to provide a comprehensive suite of K-12 learning tools on its Canvas LMS. 

In June 2021, the company partnered with Classcraft to integrate its online role-playing game for K-12 teachers and students into Canvas with the aim of boosting academic engagement and performance. The company partnered with NoRedInk, an adaptive writing curriculum used in over 60% of US school districts, allowing Canvas users to access writing exercises and activities within the program. Instructure also launched Canvas for Elementary to make Canvas more user-friendly for elementary students. In August 2021, the company expanded on its existing partnership with K16 Solutions for LMS migration services in order to offer archiving solutions to customers. In October 2021, Instructure announced integrations and expanded partnerships with over 50 EdTech solution providers including Canva, InSpace, K16 Solutions, and Tableau, to make more features available to users. In September 2022, the company partnered with Google, to integrate its technology with Google Workspace for Education Plus’ student information system (SIS) and Google Classroom to synchronize course data and rosters for educational institutions.

Funding and financials

For the full-year 2022, Instructure reported a GAAP revenue growth of 17.2% YoY to USD 475.2 million. For the full-year 2023, the company increased its guidance, with revenue expected to range from USD 521.3 million–525.3 million, and adjusted EBITDA to range from USD 199.4 million–203.4 million.