99U

What 99U does

99U is an educational platform founded in 2008 and headquartered in New York that delivers action-oriented education for creative professionals — the practical "99%" of creative careers not addressed by formal schooling. The firm operates as a small private team (1–10 employees) and is historically associated with Behance, the Adobe-owned creative portfolio platform, positioning 99U within the broader Adobe creative ecosystem rather than as a standalone product company.

The platform's core function is content and educational programming targeted at independent designers, illustrators, graphic artists, and other creative professionals, with a secondary audience of clients and employers seeking to hire creative talent. Underlying content distribution rides on the Behance platform's web and mobile properties (iOS, Android), Adobe Portfolio integration, and a multilingual footprint spanning more than 10 languages. While the input data does not describe proprietary 99U technology or platform architecture, it shows the firm leveraging Adobe's portfolio hosting, job-matching features, and creator engagement tools as a substrate for its educational mission.

The business model is not explicitly disclosed for 99U as a standalone entity; no pricing tiers, revenue streams, or named customers are attributed to 99U specifically. Contextual signals from the parent ecosystem suggest freemium-style content access with potential monetization through subscriptions (Behance Pro, Recruiter Pro) and transaction fees on freelance job postings, though these flows belong to Adobe/Behance rather than to 99U. No funding rounds, M&A activity, leadership changes, or restructuring events are recorded for 99U in the input data, and corporate ownership is described in terms of the parent Adobe relationship without a specific parent-of-record entity for 99U.

Name

99U

Legal name

Adobe, Inc.

Website

https://99u.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

99U is a small private educational platform founded in 2008 in New York that delivers action-oriented education for creative professionals. It is historically associated with Behance (now Adobe-owned) and serves independent designers, illustrators, and graphic artists.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Creative Professional Education

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Educational Support Services (611710), Computer Training (61142)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Online Learning Content & Course Publishing Platforms (BPAMAJAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Workshops, Webinars & Live Masterclasses (MPACALAD), Core Digital Curriculum & Courseware (Full Programs & Units) (EDAFACAA), Learning Content Bundling & Subscription Passes (All-Access Libraries) (MPACALAL)

Keywords

• Creative professional education
• Career development resources
• Professional skills training
• Creative conference programming
• Design education content

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Behance Pro Subscriptions: Premium subscription service offering enhanced portfolio tools, analytics, and visibility features for professional creatives.
2. Recruiter Pro Subscriptions: Premium hiring tool subscription for companies looking to recruit creative talent through the platform.
3. Freelance Job Postings: Fees charged to clients for posting structured job opportunities for freelance creative work.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

99U is an educational platform, founded in 2008 in New York, that delivers action-oriented education for creative professionals — content and programming covering the practical career, business, and creative skills not taught in traditional schools. The platform operates in association with Behance, Adobe's creative portfolio platform, and supports an annual conference program for creative professionals along with online educational resources and a portfolio-based community for discovery, hiring, and career development.

Product overview

Behance is an Adobe-owned creative portfolio platform that provides a unified ecosystem for creative professionals to build and showcase their portfolios, discover other artists, and connect with job opportunities. The platform centers on the core Behance product with premium subscription tiers (Behance Pro and Recruiter Pro), an integrated job board for freelance and full-time hiring, and mobile applications for iOS and Android. The platform also offers tools for scheduling video calls, tracking milestones, and promoting projects.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Behance Adobe-owned creative portfolio platform that enables designers, illustrators, and artists to showcase their work, discover other creatives, and connect with potential clients and employers.
• Behance Pro Premium subscription tier offering enhanced portfolio features, advanced analytics, and additional tools for professional creatives seeking portfolio visibility and career growth.
• Recruiter Pro Premium subscription service for companies and recruiters to find, review portfolios of, and hire qualified creative talent through the Behance platform.
• Behance Mobile App Native iOS and Android mobile applications that allow creatives to access and manage their portfolios on the go, distributed via the App Store and Google Play.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• AdobecoreOthersBehance is owned and operated by Adobe, Inc. The platform integrates deeply with Adobe's creative ecosystem including Adobe Portfolio, Adobe Creative Cloud, and Adobe's hiring tools. Adobe provides the parent company's distribution advantage and brand credibility.

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• MasterClass: Premium video-based education platform featuring creator-led courses from world-class practitioners; competes with 99U's positioning as high-quality, professional-grade creative education delivered digitally.
• CreativeLive: Online learning platform focused on creative education (photography, design, business); comparable to 99U as a creator-skills education destination with a subscription model and workshop-based content.
• DeviantArt: Long-standing online community and portfolio platform for artists and creative professionals with mature community features, print-on-demand, and subscription services — directly comparable two-sided community model for creative portfolios.
• Dribbble: Leading design-focused portfolio and job-matching platform for creative professionals; competes directly with Behance for designers, illustrators, and the recruiter/hiring side of the marketplace with Pro subscriptions and a structured jobs board.
• ArtStation: Portfolio and marketplace platform specialized for digital artists, concept artists, and 3D/2D illustrators. Overlaps Behance's illustration and concept-art communities with stronger positioning in the entertainment/game art vertical.
• Carbonmade: Portfolio-building service for creatives offering website creation and portfolio hosting — overlaps Behance's core portfolio hosting value proposition for designers and creative professionals.
• Skillshare: Subscription-based online learning community offering creator-led courses in creative fields (design, illustration, etc.). Directly comparable to 99U's mission of providing 'action-oriented education' for creative professionals outside traditional schooling.

Others

• Adobe Portfolio: Sister product within Adobe's ecosystem offering portfolio hosting for Creative Cloud subscribers; functions as a complementary (and partially substitutable) offering alongside Behance for the same Adobe user base.

Broad incumbents

• Instagram: Massive consumer social platform widely used by creative professionals as a free portfolio and discovery surface; competes for the same creators' attention and serves as the dominant free alternative to dedicated portfolio platforms like Behance.
• LinkedIn: Broader professional network increasingly used by creative professionals for portfolios, networking, and job hunting; competes with Behance for both creator presence and recruiter/hiring dollars at much larger scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/99u
• Facebookfacebook.com/99U
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/adobe-99u

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about 99U