Sixty North
Sixty North AS is a privately held Norwegian software company that delivers Python training, software architecture consulting, and open-source developer tools to enterprise clients in the energy, defence, and instrumentation sectors across Europe, with passive revenue from Pluralsight courses and Leanpub books.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersOslo, Norway
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Sixty North does
Sixty North AS is a privately held Norwegian software company founded in 2014 (firmographics cite 2013) and headquartered in Stavanger, operating throughout Europe. The firm operates a three-part business: (1) instructor-led live training delivered on client premises or remotely, with seven structured curricula covering core Python, advanced Python, Domain-Driven Design in Python, scientific computing, and software architecture; (2) consulting engagements including software architecture reviews, custom software development, technical coaching, and codebase assessment; and (3) self-paced digital products including a three-volume Python book series on Leanpub and 17+ on-demand courses distributed through the Pluralsight marketplace. The company maintains an active open-source portfolio spanning Cosmic Ray (mutation testing for Python), LangChain Replay (deterministic testing of LLM agents), Segpy (SEG-Y seismic data library), Asq (LINQ-style queries), and several smaller utility libraries.
The core technology is deep Python specialization applied to complex scientific and engineering problems in the energy, defence, and instrumentation sectors. Sixty North serves enterprise clients primarily in Norwegian-headquartered energy companies (Equinor, Aker BP, Aker Solutions, PetroMarker, Ziebel, Limejump) alongside government healthcare (Helse Stavanger), education (Universitet i Stavanger), and technology customers (Pluralsight, SingleStone, Demonware). Revenue is generated through professional services fees for training and consulting engagements, passive royalties from Pluralsight subscriptions, and one-time book purchases on Leanpub; pricing is quote-based with no public rate card, and enterprise licensing of training content is offered for organizational use. GTM is content-first: conference speaking at NDC, ACCU, GOTO, DevWeek, and Booster, a long-running technical blog, podcast appearances, and an active open-source presence serve as top-of-funnel demand generation. The firm is led by founders Robert Smallshire (Managing Director) and Austin Bingham (Technical Director) with developer Ekaterina Nikonova, totaling three core team members.
Sixty North firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Sixty North
- Legal name
- Sixty North AS
- Website
- https://sixty-north.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Sixty North AS is a privately held Norwegian software company that delivers Python training, software architecture consulting, and open-source developer tools to enterprise clients in the energy, defence, and instrumentation sectors across Europe, with passive revenue from Pluralsight courses and Leanpub books.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Sixty North industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Software Training and Consulting Services
- NAICS
- Computer Training (611420), Management Consulting Services (54161), Software Publishers (5132)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Software Engineering & Application Development Training (Languages, Frameworks, Testing) (BPAEANAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Software Development (Programming, Frameworks, Dev Tools) (EDABAFAA), Information Technology & Software (EDAAAPAB)
Keywords
Where Sixty North is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Oslo
- HQ country
- Norway
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Sixty North business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Training Services: Revenue from both public and private training events, in-person and remote delivery, covering Python programming, software architecture, and domain-driven design courses. Also includes enterprise licensing of training materials.
- Software Consulting: Custom software development and architecture consulting engagements, including software architecture reviews, custom development, contract development, and technical coaching.
- Pluralsight Course Revenue: Revenue from on-demand Python courses distributed through Pluralsight's platform, covering Python fundamentals to advanced topics.
- Book Sales: Revenue from published Python books: The Python Apprentice, The Python Journeyman, The Python Master, and The Python Craftsman bundle on Leanpub.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Private Training Events |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Sixty North product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Sixty North delivers Python-focused software consulting (architecture reviews, custom development, technical coaching) and professional training services, both live (instructor-led, in-person or remote) and on-demand (via Pluralsight). The company also publishes Python learning books and maintains open-source Python tools such as Cosmic Ray and LangChain Replay. Their work specializes in complex scientific and engineering problems for clients in energy, defense, and instrumentation industries.
Product overview
Sixty North is a Norwegian software product company, consultancy, and training provider operating throughout Europe. The company offers a portfolio of instructor-led and on-demand training courses focused on Python programming, software architecture, and domain-driven design. Their training products include live courses (Python for Programmers, Python Properly, Advanced Python, DDD Patterns in Python, Science and Data Analysis in Python, Python: Beyond Scripting, and Software Architecture for Developers) as well as on-demand courses hosted on Pluralsight covering the full Python learning path from basics through advanced language internals. In addition to training, Sixty North provides consulting services including software architecture, custom development, contract development, and technical coaching. The company maintains an active open-source portfolio including LangChain Replay (LLM agent testing), Cosmic Ray (mutation testing), Segpy (SEG-Y data handling), Asq (LINQ-style queries), and several other Python development tools. They have also authored a three-volume Python book series (The Python Apprentice, The Python Journeyman, and The Python Master) available on Leanpub.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Live Training Courses Instructor-led training (in-person or remote) covering software architecture, Python programming, Domain-Driven Design, and requirements analysis. Private events accommodate up to 12 attendees on programming courses or 16 on non-programming courses, with enterprise licensing available for wider organizational use.
- On-demand Python Training on Pluralsight Self-paced video courses covering Python from basics to advanced topics, distributed globally through Pluralsight's subscription learning platform.
- Software Consulting Services Software architecture reviews, custom Python development, contract development, and technical coaching engagements delivered by senior practitioners for enterprise clients.
- Python Book Series A three-volume book series: The Python Apprentice (basics), The Python Journeyman (advanced topics), and The Python Master (language internals), available through Leanpub as self-published learning resources.
- Python for Programmers 16-hour course in four sessions covering Python essentials for experienced developers transitioning from other programming languages.
- Python Properly 16-hour intermediate course in four sessions covering decorators, closures, context managers, packaging, and advanced Python techniques for larger systems.
- Advanced Python Two-day deep dive into Python internals including metaclasses, abstract base classes, coroutines, and the import system.
- DDD Patterns in Python 16-hour course teaching Domain-Driven Design fundamentals in a Python context, covering entities, values, aggregates, domain events, and repositories.
- Science and Data Analysis in Python Two-day course covering NumPy, Pandas, and Matplotlib for scientific computing and data analysis.
- Python: Beyond Scripting One-day course for scripters covering packaging, dependency management, automated testing, and software design.
- Software Architecture for Developers Two-day pragmatic software architecture course covering design, visualization, and documentation of software systems, delivered under license from Coding the Architecture.
- Cosmic Ray Open-source mutation testing tool for Python that evaluates the quality of test suites by introducing deliberate faults into code to surface weaknesses in test coverage.
- LangChain Replay Open-source tool providing deterministic testing for LangChain agents by recording LLM decisions and replaying them while running real tools, eliminating API costs and non-determinism in agent test suites.
- Segpy Python library for reading and writing SEG-Y (seismic) data, used in scientific and engineering applications such as petroleum geophysics.
- Asq Python library implementing a LINQ-style query API for Python, providing declarative query operations over Python collections.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over two decades of Python experience among course leaders
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Sixty North
Customer profileNamed customers11 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Sixty North technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Feature5 records
Sixty North partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- PluralsightcoreSixty North distributes its Python courses through Pluralsight's online learning platform, enabling global access to its educational content. The partnership provides revenue through course subscriptions on the Pluralsight platform.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Sixty North competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Coursera: Coursera hosts Python specializations from universities and partners — a much larger MOOC incumbent whose self-paced Python content overlaps with Sixty North's on-demand courses.
- Pluralsight: Pluralsight is Sixty North's distribution partner and the dominant tech-skills subscription platform; it competes broadly with Sixty North's on-demand content while hosting it, making it both a channel and an overlapping incumbent.
- Skillsoft: Skillsoft (the post-Pluralsight-combination entity, now Skillsoft Pluralsight) is a large enterprise tech and leadership training incumbent whose broad catalogue competes with Sixty North's enterprise licensing offering.
Direct peers
- Coding the Architecture: Simon Brown's Coding the Architecture is the source of the Software Architecture for Developers course that Sixty North licenses; both firms deliver pragmatic software-architecture training to working developers.
- Real Python: Real Python (Dan Bader) is a subscription Python education site combining written tutorials, video courses and community resources, mirroring Sixty North's blend of in-depth Python content and multi-format delivery.
- Talk Python Training: Founded by Michael Kennedy, Talk Python Training offers Python courses, live tutorials, and the Talk Python To Me podcast — directly comparable to Sixty North's mix of live training, on-demand courses and conference-circuit presence.
- Reuven Lerner (Lerner Consulting): Reuven Lerner runs a Python and data-science training and consulting practice with courses, books and corporate engagements — a closely analogous solo/small-team boutique operating in the Python upskilling market.
Emerging players
- JetBrains Academy: JetBrains Academy offers project-based Python and language learning tightly integrated with JetBrains IDEs; it overlaps Sixty North's beginner-to-advanced Python curriculum via a different delivery model.
Regional players
- Odd-e (Odd-e Norway): Odd-e is a Scandinavian software consultancy running training and coaching in agile/Lean and technical practices; a geographically adjacent peer to Sixty North's Stavanger-anchored consulting and training delivery.
Others
- Pragmatic Programmer / Pragmatic AI Labs: Pragmatic Programmer publishes technical books and runs Pragmatic AI Labs training; shares Sixty North's book-publishing plus training-content model and serves overlapping expert-developer buyers.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Sixty North social profiles
Digital presenceSixty North financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Sixty North leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Sixty North funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Sixty North 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 Sixty North
What does Sixty North do?
Sixty North delivers Python-focused software consulting (architecture reviews, custom development, technical coaching) and professional training services, both live (instructor-led, in-person or remote) and on-demand (via Pluralsight). The company also publishes Python learning books and maintains open-source Python tools such as Cosmic Ray and LangChain Replay. Their work specializes in complex scientific and engineering problems for clients in energy, defense, and instrumentation industries.
Is Sixty North a public or private company?
Sixty North is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Sixty North founded?
Sixty North was founded in 2014. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Sixty North based?
Sixty North is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, in the Europe region.
How does Sixty North make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Training Services are the primary driver. The others are software Consulting, pluralsight Course Revenue and book Sales.
Who are Sixty North's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Coursera, Pluralsight and Skillsoft. Direct peers are Coding the Architecture, Real Python, Talk Python Training and Reuven Lerner (Lerner Consulting). JetBrains Academy is listed as an emerging player. Odd-e (Odd-e Norway) is listed as a regional player. Pragmatic Programmer / Pragmatic AI Labs is listed as an others.
Does Sixty North have an API?
No public API is recorded for Sixty North.
What industry is Sixty North in?
Sixty North's product category is Software Training and Consulting Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAEANAI, Software Engineering & Application Development Training (Languages, Frameworks, Testing), with a secondary code of EDABAFAA, Software Development (Programming, Frameworks, Dev Tools). Its NAICS code is 611420 and its SIC code is 8200.