Blackboard

Learning Management Systemsblackboard.com

Company typePrivate
Founded1997
HeadquartersWashington, United States
Headcount1,001–5,000
GTM typeB2B
OfferingSoftware

Blackboard firmographics

Firmographics

Name: Blackboard
Legal name: Blackboard LLC
Website: https://blackboard.com
Company type: Private
Founded year: 1997
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 1,001–5,000 employees
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

Blackboard industry classification

Industry

Product category: Learning Management Systems
NAICS: Educational Services (611), Business Schools and Computer and Management Training (6114), Educational Support Services (611710)
SIC: Services-Educational Services (8200)
akta.pro primary industry: Learning Management Systems (LMS) & Academic Application Support (EDALAMAC)
akta.pro secondary industries: Learning Management Systems (LMS) & Digital Classrooms (EDAJAMAA), Corporate/L&D Course Licensing from Creators (B2B Upskilling) (MPACALAH)

Keywords

Learning management system
Education technology
Accessibility compliance tools
Workforce training software
Student success analytics

Where Blackboard is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Washington
HQ country: United States
HQ region: North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

Blackboard business model

Business model

GTM type: B2B
Offering type: Software
Cost components: Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

LMS Subscriptions: Subscription-based licensing of Blackboard LMS to educational institutions, government agencies, and corporations. The company operates on a SaaS model with per-seat or site licensing.
Accessibility Solutions (Ally): Subscription revenue from Blackboard Ally accessibility solution, available as an integrated LMS add-on or for websites and CMS platforms
Analytics and Intelligence Solutions: Revenue from Blackboard Illuminate data analytics platform and related institutional intelligence solutions
Assessment and Evaluation Solutions: Revenue from Blackboard Evaluate (course evaluations) and Outcomes assessment management solutions
Credentialing and Badging Solutions: Revenue from Blackboard Milestone skills and badging/micro-credentialing platform
Professional Services: Implementation, adoption, and professional development services including onboarding, training, and strategic consulting

Pricing tiers

Model	Billing	Price
Subscription	Annual	Enterprise site licensing for institutions
Per seat	Annual	Per-seat/user licensing
Subscription	Annual	SaaS-based corporate training licensing

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Blackboard product offering

Product offering

Core offering

Blackboard provides an AI-powered Learning Management System (LMS) and integrated teaching and learning solutions for higher education institutions, government agencies, and corporations. The platform is delivered as a SaaS subscription on AWS cloud infrastructure and includes built-in generative AI capabilities for course design and student interaction, along with complementary modules for accessibility compliance, data analytics, course evaluation, accreditation, and credentialing.

Product overview

Blackboard is a platform-plus-modules architecture providing an AI-powered digital learning environment for transformational teaching and learning. The core offering is the Blackboard LMS, a market-leading learning management system with built-in generative AI capabilities. The platform is complemented by specialized modules including Blackboard Ally (accessibility), Blackboard Illuminate (data analytics), Blackboard Evaluate (course evaluation), and Blackboard Institutional Effectiveness solutions (Accreditation, Outcomes, Planning, Program Review). Additional products include Blackboard Milestone (skills and badging), Blackboard LMS: Adopt (student engagement analytics powered by Pendo), and dedicated solutions for Government and Business sectors. All offerings are supported by implementation and professional development services, and the platform serves thousands of institutions globally with an emphasis on AI innovation, accessibility, and usability.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

Blackboard LMS: Market-leading learning management system with AI capabilities for higher education, government, and business sectors
Blackboard Ally
Blackboard Illuminate
Blackboard Evaluate
Blackboard Milestone
Blackboard Accreditation
Blackboard Outcomes

Products and services

Blackboard LMS Market-leading Learning Management System with built-in generative AI capabilities, designed to save instructors time and enable collaborative, personalized learning experiences. Features include course building tools, plagiarism detection, customizable grading interface, accessibility integrations, and AI Design Assistant.
Blackboard Ally Accessibility solution that dynamically enhances digital course content to meet individual learner needs, challenges, and preferences. Automatically generates alternative formats (audio, translations in 100+ languages), provides feedback for instructors, and includes comprehensive reporting for institutions to meet Title II requirements.
Blackboard Illuminate Comprehensive data and reporting platform that incorporates data from Blackboard products and other sources (LMS, SIS, CRM) to deliver actionable insights for student and institutional success. Features include Data Q&A using Generative BI, custom reports, and visualization capabilities.
Blackboard Evaluate Course evaluation and feedback solution that streamlines the evaluation process from survey delivery to reporting. Provides timely, meaningful feedback for faculty and administrators to improve learning outcomes, featuring nationally normed evaluation instruments (IDEA System).
Blackboard Institutional Effectiveness Suite of assessment management solutions spanning outcomes measurement, strategic planning, program review, and accreditation to help institutions learn from their own data and act on it.
Blackboard Accreditation Collaborative accreditation platform that helps institutions gather evidence for external stakeholders, navigate accreditation complexities, and support continuous improvement processes.
Blackboard Outcomes Unified, evidence-based approach to measuring learning with embedded outcomes measurement in the LMS. Provides real-time visibility into student learning and skill mastery for accreditation reporting and institutional planning.
Blackboard Milestone Skills and badging platform enabling learners to certify and showcase skills through badging and micro-credentialing, competency assessment, career goal setting, and guided skill progression with Open Badge 2.0 compliance.
Blackboard LMS for Government Learning Management System for government agencies providing secure and scalable workforce skills and regulatory training programs. Features FedRAMP, IL4, and GovRAMP certifications for government cloud deployment via AWS GovCloud.
Blackboard LMS for Business Learning management solutions for corporate training and professional development, enabling flexible employee development, training, and online learning with SaaS model and HR software integration.
Blackboard LMS: Adopt Powered by Pendo, provides insight and outreach capabilities to streamline learning adoption and track feature utilization to help identify disengaged or struggling learners for early intervention.
Blackboard Professional Development Implementation, adoption, and training services to configure, deploy, and support Blackboard solutions, align them to institutional goals, and ensure ongoing success.
Blackboard Planning Learning assessment tool designed for higher education to make institutional planning second nature with data-driven decision making.
Blackboard Program Review Internal program review solution that collects evidence of program effectiveness and identifies areas for improvement through a centralized process.

Quantifiable outcome

2.92 million AI Conversation messages from 209,000 students across 575 institutions globally
+2 more outcomes

Companies that use Blackboard

Customer profile

Named customers26 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Blackboard technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API: Yes
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

AI capability11 records

Feature10 records

Blackboard partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Partnerships

26 partnerships are on record, tiered strategic, standard, premier, gold, silver, bronze, core, innovation and regional.

ViaPath TechnologiesstrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 April 2026ViaPath Technologies partnered with Blackboard to integrate Blackboard Learn into its secure digital education platform for corrections facilities nationwide. Collaboration expands educational offerings for incarcerated learners including GED preparation, vocational training, and accredited college courses, building on ViaPath's existing delivery of 55.4 million hours of e-learning.
EnfluxstandardTechnology or Integration · 1 April 2026Enflux announced integration with Blackboard allowing institutions to import and analyze Blackboard data within the Enflux platform to improve student performance monitoring and intervention strategies.
Amazon Web Services (AWS)premierTechnology or IntegrationBlackboard utilizes AWS as its cloud infrastructure platform, being an AWS Advanced Tier Services Partner with both AWS Education Competency and AWS Government Competency recognitions. AWS GovCloud deployment provides secure foundation for government clients with IL4 and FedRAMP certifications.
RespondusgoldTechnology or IntegrationRespondus develops assessment applications for education, training and certification markets. Over 100 million assessments are created, delivered, proctored or analyzed using Respondus technology annually. Partnership enables deep integration with Blackboard LMS for academic integrity solutions.
VitalSourcesilverTechnology or IntegrationVitalSource is a leading global learning technology company powering a secure, scalable Learning Delivery Network. Partnership provides digital content, accessibility, student engagement, and curriculum management integrations with Blackboard.
KalturabronzeTechnology or IntegrationKaltura provides live and on-demand video SaaS solutions to thousands of organizations globally. Partnership enables multimedia integration within Blackboard LMS for video-based learning experiences.
PanoptocoreTechnology or IntegrationPanopto is designed for asynchronous video communication, enabling creation and sharing of on-demand videos and screen recordings. Integration with Blackboard enables seamless video content delivery within the LMS.
Cengage LearningcoreTechnology or IntegrationOne of the largest education technology companies globally, Cengage provides digital products to millions of students. Partnership streamlines access to Cengage MindTap and WebAssign within Blackboard Learn courses.
Turnitin LLCcoreTechnology or IntegrationTurnitin provides academic integrity and plagiarism detection solutions. Partnership enables text similarity matching and academic integrity features within Blackboard LMS.
Qwickly LLCstandardTechnology or IntegrationQwickly Attendance Pro offers attendance tracking options for instructors and institutional reporting. Integration provides seamless attendance management within Blackboard.
ObrizuminnovationStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Obrizum to revolutionize AI-powered learning for Blackboard users worldwide. Obrizum provides adaptive learning technology that personalizes content delivery based on learner performance.
CognosOnlineregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorChannel partner serving Latin America (Mexico, Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Chile, Peru, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina) with 23+ years of partnership history with Blackboard.
eLearning MediaregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorChannel partner for Spain and Portugal with deeply integrated partnership providing local expertise complementing Blackboard software and support.
BMEregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorChannel partner for Middle East region with over two decades of trusted partnership. BME has been Blackboard partner for 20+ years.
MegaTEXTSregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorChannel partner serving Philippines with partnership valued for business growth and education community service.
CGI Federal Inc.regionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorChannel partner based in Fairfax, VA serving North America with federal government IT services.
DLT SolutionsregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorChannel partner based in Herndon, VA specializing in government technology solutions for North America.
Four Inc.regionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorChannel partner providing technology solutions and services for North America market.
Eastech ConsultingregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorChannel partner based in Hong Kong serving Asia-Pacific region.
TalismaregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorChannel partner serving India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka with education technology solutions.
Knowmad MoodregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorChannel partner serving Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland with implementation and support services.
SeidorregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorChannel partner based in Barcelona serving Italy and Spain markets.
Sybven LLCregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorChannel partner serving extensive Latin American and Caribbean markets including Venezuela, Peru, Mexico, and Caribbean nations.
Dynamics Africa ServicesregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorChannel partner serving 23 African nations including Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, and Ethiopia.
EvanzaregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorChannel partner serving Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, and Brazil.
HonorlockcoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership with Honorlock for remote proctoring integration enabling transparent, accessible, and engaging assessment design within Blackboard LMS.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Blackboard competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Emerging players

Open edX: Open edX is the open-source LMS platform stewarded by 2U/edX, widely used in higher education and corporate training as a customizable alternative to proprietary LMS like Blackboard.
Docebo: Docebo is an AI-native corporate LMS competing directly with Blackboard LMS for Business, with strong growth in enterprise workforce learning and a comparable SaaS pricing model.

Direct peers

Instructure (Canvas): Instructure's Canvas is the most direct competitor to Blackboard LMS in higher education, offering a comparable cloud-based LMS with similar AI features and integrations, serving many of the same university customers.
D2L (Brightspace): D2L's Brightspace is a direct LMS competitor in higher education and K-12, offering cloud-based learning management with similar analytics, accessibility, and AI capabilities, frequently shortlisted alongside Blackboard in institutional evaluations.
Moodle: Moodle is the leading open-source LMS, widely adopted in higher education and K-12 globally. While Blackboard historically acquired Moodlerooms, Moodle continues to compete as a low-cost alternative particularly in EMEA and APAC.
Cornerstone OnDemand: Cornerstone OnDemand is a leading corporate LMS and talent management platform, directly comparable to Blackboard LMS for Business in serving enterprise workforce training customers like the ones in Blackboard's AT&T, Kaiser Permanente, and Westinghouse accounts.

Broad incumbents

Google Classroom: Google Classroom, bundled free with Google Workspace for Education, is the dominant LMS-like platform in K-12 and increasingly used in higher education. Its incumbency in education IT creates a major competitive constraint on Blackboard's pricing and adoption.
Microsoft Education (Teams for Education): Microsoft Teams for Education combined with Microsoft 365 is a broad incumbent in the education productivity space, competing directly with Blackboard LMS in higher education and K-12 through bundled classroom, communication, and assignment tools.
PowerSchool: PowerSchool is the dominant K-12 student information and learning platform in North America, overlapping with Blackboard's K-12 segment through its unified classroom and Schoology LMS products.
Workday Learning: Workday Learning, bundled with Workday HCM, is a major incumbent in enterprise learning management, competing with Blackboard LMS for Business for corporate customers that already standardize on Workday HR systems.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Blackboard compliance and trust

Trust signal

Compliance4 records

Blackboard financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Blackboard leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Blackboard funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors19 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Blackboard M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A21 records

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Blackboard

What does Blackboard do?

Is Blackboard a public or private company?

Blackboard is a private company. It is classified as private equity controlled and is currently operating.

When was Blackboard founded?

Blackboard was founded in 1997. It employs 1,001 to 5,000 people.

Where is Blackboard based?

Blackboard is headquartered in Washington, United States, in the North America region.

How does Blackboard make money?

Six revenue lines are on record. LMS Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are accessibility Solutions (Ally), analytics and Intelligence Solutions, assessment and Evaluation Solutions, credentialing and Badging Solutions and professional Services.

Who are Blackboard's main competitors?

Emerging players on record are Open edX and Docebo. Direct peers are Instructure (Canvas), D2L (Brightspace), Moodle and Cornerstone OnDemand. Broad incumbents are Google Classroom, Microsoft Education (Teams for Education), PowerSchool and Workday Learning.

Does Blackboard have an API?

Yes. Blackboard's platform supports LTI (Learning Tools Interoperability) and API-based integrations, enabling deep connections between Blackboard and partner products for a seamless user experience. The platform is described as a standards-first company with LTI- and API-based integrations that are reliable, supported, and scalable. Developer documentation is available through the Blackboard developer community portal. Developer documentation is at docs.anthology.com/docs/community/getting-involved.

What industry is Blackboard in?

Blackboard's product category is Learning Management Systems. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDALAMAC, Learning Management Systems (LMS) & Academic Application Support, with a secondary code of EDAJAMAA, Learning Management Systems (LMS) & Digital Classrooms. Its NAICS code is 611 and its SIC code is 8200.