Outlier
Outlier is a Brooklyn-based online education company offering 16 introductory college courses through high school dual enrollment and an adult degree program. A Savvas Learning Company subsidiary, courses award three University of Pittsburgh credits, transferable to over 800 institutions.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersBrooklyn, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Outlier does
Outlier (Outlier.org Inc.) is an online education company founded in 2018 and headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, that delivers introductory college courses to high school students through dual enrollment partnerships and to adult learners via a degree program. The company operates as a subsidiary of Savvas Learning Company LLC and offers 16 entry-level courses spanning business, computer science, mathematics, psychology, economics, communications, and astronomy. Each course awards three transferable credits issued through a partnership with the University of Pittsburgh, and Outlier reports that credits have transferred to over 800 institutions — including Princeton, Harvard, UC Berkeley, NYU, Georgetown, and Syracuse — with less than 2% of transfer requests rejected.
The platform combines cinematic video lectures, interactive textbooks built on active-learning pedagogy, and — for computer science — a proprietary code-along interface designed for real-time instructor-led practice. Coursework is delivered asynchronously over 39-week cohorts with no enrollment minimums or maximums, supplemented by an on-demand Student Success tutoring team. Outlier has expanded beyond core academic courses into professional certificates offered in partnership with Google (Data Analytics), Meta (Social Media Marketing), and Salesforce (Sales Representative, UX Design, Bookkeeping), and into a degree sub-brand called Degrees+ delivered with Golden Gate University (Applied Computing AS, Business Administration AA, Liberal Studies AA). Recognition includes TIME Best Inventions 2020 and Fast Company Innovation By Design 2020.
Revenue is generated primarily through per-course tuition priced at roughly 50% of traditional college pricing, with promotional discounting (Black Friday, 2-for-1), plus a subscription-style degree program priced at $6,370 per year that can be fully covered by federal Pell Grants, employer tuition benefits (Amazon, Target), or GI Bill funds. Outlier has raised approximately $46 million across three rounds: a $4.3M seed (November 2018, led by Harrison Metal), an $11.7M round (January 2020, led by GSV Ventures), and a $30M Series A (April 2021, led by Google Ventures). Distribution is direct-to-consumer through high school guidance counselor referrals, the outlier.org website, and an iPhone mobile app, with no disclosed international footprint.
Outlier firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Outlier
- Legal name
- Outlier.org Inc.
- Website
- https://outlier.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Outlier is a Brooklyn-based online education company offering 16 introductory college courses through high school dual enrollment and an adult degree program. A Savvas Learning Company subsidiary, courses award three University of Pittsburgh credits, transferable to over 800 institutions.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Outlier industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Online Higher Education
- NAICS
- Educational Services (611), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Junior Colleges (6112)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Virtual School Course Providers (Single-Course/Part-Time Enrollment) (EDAJADAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Online Divisions of Traditional Universities (Hybrid/Extension) (EDAHALAB), Online Nonprofit Universities (EDAHALAK)
Keywords
Where Outlier is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Brooklyn
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Outlier business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Per-Course Tuition: Students pay per course for dual enrollment college credits. Courses are priced at approximately 50% savings compared to traditional college courses, with periodic promotional discounts (2-for-1, Black Friday specials).
- Degree Program Partnership: Partnership with Golden Gate University for the Degrees+ program offering associate degrees at $6,370/year, potentially fully funded through Pell Grants, employer benefits, or military benefits.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | One time | Standard per-course pricing with 50% savings vs. traditional college |
| Subscription | Annual | Degrees+ annual tuition with full funding options |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Outlier product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Outlier operates an online education platform that delivers introductory college-level courses (Financial Accounting, Business, Psychology, Computer Science, Calculus, Astronomy, Economics, Statistics, Algebra, Precalculus, and Professional Communication) to high school students via dual enrollment and to adult learners via the Degrees+ associate degree program. Each course awards 3 transferable credits from the University of Pittsburgh and is delivered through cinematic video lectures, interactive textbooks, and competency-based quizzes.
Product overview
Outlier is a dual enrollment platform that offers 13 college-level courses for high school students nationwide. The platform provides cinematic video lectures, interactive textbooks, and multiple world-class instructors per course (including faculty from MIT, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, NYU, NASA, and other top institutions). Each course awards 3 transferable college credits from the University of Pittsburgh (a top 50 global school) and is designed to be approximately half the cost of traditional college. The product portfolio includes core academic courses spanning business, computer science, mathematics, psychology, economics, communications, and astronomy, plus professional certificates in data analytics, sales, UX design, social media marketing, and bookkeeping offered through a partnership with Golden Gate University. The Degrees+ sub-brand provides associate degree programs that can be fully funded through Pell Grants or employer/military benefits.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Degrees+: A partnership with Golden Gate University offering associate degree programs including Applied Computing (AS), Business Administration (AA), and Liberal Studies (AA).
Products and services
- Intro to Financial Accounting
Quantifiable outcome
- Pass rates on par with on-campus national averages
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Outlier
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Outlier technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Outlier partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- ACE (American Council on Education)coreACE Credit Recommendation for courses, enabling broader transferability to colleges and universities. Students can request ACE credit recommendations to accompany their University of Pittsburgh transcripts for credit evaluation.
- Savvas Learning Company LLCcoreParent company of Outlier.org. Savvas is a major educational publishing company that acquired and operates Outlier as a subsidiary. Copyright and legal entity information shows Outlier.org Inc. as the operating company.
- University of PittsburghcoreUniversity providing the college credit for Outlier courses. Each course is worth 3 transferable college credits from this top 50 global school (US News & World Report 2022). Credits transfer to 800+ institutions nationwide.
- Golden Gate UniversitycorePartnership for the Degrees+ program offering associate degrees (Applied Computing AS, Business Administration AA, Liberal Studies AA). GGU provides the degree credential while Outlier provides the coursework platform. Total tuition $6,370/year, potentially fully funded through Pell Grants.
- Google Career CertificatesminorProfessional certificate program in Data Analytics offered through Outlier's dual enrollment high school partnerships. Provides job-ready skills with median salary of $74,000+ in the field.
- Meta Career CertificatesminorProfessional certificate program in Social Media Marketing offered through Outlier's dual enrollment high school partnerships. Provides skills for growing engaging social communities and running advertising campaigns.
- Salesforce CertificatesminorProfessional certificate offerings including Sales Representative and Bookkeeping programs. Sales Representative certificate teaches lead generation, nurturing, and data reporting with median salary of $66,000+.
- U.S. High Schools (Nationwide)coreDual enrollment partnerships with high schools across the United States. Provides unlimited enrollment (no minimums or maximums) and asynchronous 39-week courses designed to fit academic calendars.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Outlier competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- MasterClass: MasterClass is the consumer subscription video education platform co-founded by Aaron Rasmussen alongside Outlier. It shares Outlier's premium-production, celebrity-instructor DNA and brand identity but operates in non-credit-bearing adult enrichment rather than dual enrollment.
Direct peers
- Saylor Academy: Saylor Academy offers free, self-paced online college-level courses with ACE Credit Recommendations accepted at hundreds of institutions. Closely comparable business model (free/open courses with credit-recommendation pathway) competing for the same cost-conscious student.
- Study.com: Study.com offers online college courses with transferable credit accepted by thousands of institutions, plus a high school dual enrollment offering. It competes head-on with Outlier's credit-for-high-schoolers positioning and a much larger course catalog.
- Modern States Education Alliance: Modern States provides free online courses with ACE Credit Recommendations designed to prepare students for CLEP exams. It targets the same dual-purpose (college credit + affordability) audience as Outlier but via a free/clep-exam pathway rather than tuition.
- StraighterLine: StraighterLine offers self-paced online college courses with guaranteed credit-transfer acceptance at partner institutions, directly overlapping with Outlier's online-college-credit model. Both target cost-conscious learners seeking alternatives to traditional tuition.
- Sophia Learning: Sophia.org provides self-paced general education college courses accepted by ACE Credit Recommended and hundreds of partner institutions. Closely comparable to Outlier on the online-college-credit, ACE-recommended transfer pathway.
Broad incumbents
- Coursera: Coursera partners with universities to offer online courses, certificates, and degree programs at scale. A broader incumbent in the same online-university-credit category with a much larger catalog and global footprint; competes with Outlier's degree pathways.
- edX: edX (now part of 2U) offers university-level online courses, MicroMasters, and degree programs from global universities including credit-recommended offerings. Comparable to Outlier on the university-branded online credit pathway but with a much wider catalog.
Others
- Khan Academy: Khan Academy is a free online education platform covering K-14 subjects with high school and early-college content. It does not grant transferable college credit but competes for the same study-time share of college-aspirational high schoolers.
- College Board (AP Program): The College Board's AP program is the dominant alternative pathway for high school students to earn college credit. It is not a direct competitor (non-profit, exam-based, free in many schools) but is the entrenched substitute guidance counselors consider before recommending Outlier.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Outlier social profiles
Digital presenceOutlier financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Outlier leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Outlier funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors11 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Outlier M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Outlier
What does Outlier do?
Outlier operates an online education platform that delivers introductory college-level courses (Financial Accounting, Business, Psychology, Computer Science, Calculus, Astronomy, Economics, Statistics, Algebra, Precalculus, and Professional Communication) to high school students via dual enrollment and to adult learners via the Degrees+ associate degree program. Each course awards 3 transferable credits from the University of Pittsburgh and is delivered through cinematic video lectures, interactive textbooks, and competency-based quizzes.
Is Outlier a public or private company?
Outlier is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Outlier founded?
Outlier was founded in 2018. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Outlier based?
Outlier is headquartered in Brooklyn, United States, in the North America region.
How does Outlier make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Per-Course Tuition is the primary driver. The others are degree Program Partnership.
Who are Outlier's main competitors?
MasterClass is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Saylor Academy, Study.com, Modern States Education Alliance, StraighterLine and Sophia Learning. Broad incumbents are Coursera and edX. Others are Khan Academy and College Board (AP Program).
Does Outlier have an API?
No public API is recorded for Outlier.
What industry is Outlier in?
Outlier's product category is Online Higher Education. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAJADAE, Virtual School Course Providers (Single-Course/Part-Time Enrollment), with a secondary code of EDAHALAB, Online Divisions of Traditional Universities (Hybrid/Extension). Its NAICS code is 611 and its SIC code is 8200.