The Carpentries
The Carpentries is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that teaches foundational coding and data science skills to researchers worldwide through peer-reviewed curricula delivered by a volunteer community of 5,456 certified instructors across 72 countries.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersOakland, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What The Carpentries does
The Carpentries is a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organisation headquartered in Davis, California (registered in Delaware) that teaches foundational coding, data science, and computational skills to researchers in academia, industry, and government. The organisation was formed as an umbrella in 2017 uniting Software Carpentry (founded 1998), Data Carpentry (2014), and Library Carpentry (2016) under shared governance, with predecessors reaching back nearly three decades. Its core product is a portfolio of three peer-reviewed, CC-BY 4.0 licensed lesson curricula delivered through small, hands-on workshops by a globally distributed volunteer instructor base.
Operational technology spans the AMY workshop management database (handling instructor certifications, workshop registration, and training event administration), the Carpentries Workbench lesson template and infrastructure, and two community platforms: the Carpentries Incubator for collaborative lesson development and the Carpentries Lab for peer-reviewed short-format lessons. Supporting programs include Instructor Training, Instructor Trainer Training, Lesson Development Training, Professional Development Sessions, and a GenAI in Workshops Bonus Module.
The business model combines three revenue streams: (1) administrative fees for Centrally-Organised Workshops that include instructor recruitment and logistical support from the Workshops and Instruction Team, plus host-borne instructor travel estimated at approximately US$3,000 per workshop; (2) multi-year Partnership Program contracts with institutional Partner Organisations that sponsor workshops and contribute to governance; and (3) grants and donations from major foundations (Mellon, Moore, Alfred P. Sloan, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative) and corporate sponsors (Posit, Navigation Fund). Distribution is dual-channel: a direct/quoted centrally-organised model for host institutions willing to pay, and a free self-organised model where hosts connect directly with certified instructors. The organisation has delivered 4,988 workshops to researchers across 72 countries through 5,456 certified instructors and 185 trainers, with active community engagement on Slack (5,789 users), GitHub, and a multi-platform social presence.
The Carpentries firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Carpentries
- Legal name
- The Carpentries
- Website
- https://carpentries.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- The Carpentries is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that teaches foundational coding and data science skills to researchers worldwide through peer-reviewed curricula delivered by a volunteer community of 5,456 certified instructors across 72 countries.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Carpentries industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Research Data Science Education and Training
- NAICS
- Computer Training (61142), Computer Training (611420), Professional and Management Development Training (611430), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Train-the-Trainer & Instructor Enablement Services (BPAEANAL)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Instructional Design & Storyboarding Platforms (EDAFAHAB)
Keywords
Where The Carpentries is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Oakland
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
The Carpentries business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Workshop Administrative Fees: Centrally-Organised workshops charge an administrative fee to cover the cost of instructor recruitment, registration setup, and ongoing support from the Workshops and Instruction Team. Self-Organised workshops are free of charge.
- Partnership Program: Organizations become Partner Organisations that sponsor workshops, provide institutional support, and contribute to the organization's funding. Partners receive recognition,优先 access to instructor training, and involvement in governance.
- Donations and Grants: The Carpentries receives funding from grants and individual donations. Major supporters include foundations (Mellon, Moore, Alfred Sloan, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative) and corporate sponsors (Posit, Navigation Fund).
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Centrally-Organised Workshop |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Self-Organised Workshop |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
The Carpentries product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Carpentries delivers community-developed, hands-on workshops that teach foundational coding, data, and computational skills to researchers worldwide through three lesson programs (Software Carpentry, Data Carpentry, Library Carpentry). The organization also runs instructor certification training, peer-reviewed lesson development platforms, and supports a global volunteer network of 5,456 certified instructors across 72 countries. Lesson materials are open-source under CC-BY 4.0, and workshops are delivered via two models: centrally-organized (fee-based with administrative support) and self-organized (free, independent).
Product overview
The Carpentries is a non-profit educational organization operating as a unified platform offering community-driven instructional programs. The core portfolio consists of three lesson programs—Data Carpentry, Library Carpentry, and Software Carpentry—that teach foundational computational and data science skills to researchers worldwide. These programs are supported by instructor training (Instructor Training, Instructor Trainer Training) and lesson development programs (Lesson Development Training, The Carpentries Incubator, The Carpentries Lab). The organization also provides workshops (both centrally-organized and self-organized), professional development sessions, and the GenAI in Workshops Bonus Module as educational offerings. The Carpentries manages these activities through the AMY workshop management platform and maintains community engagement via platforms including Slack, GitHub, and various online spaces.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Data Carpentry: Lesson program focused on data skills training for researchers
- Software Carpentry
- Library Carpentry
Products and services
- Software Carpentry Lesson program teaching foundational coding and computational skills to researchers, covering topics such as the Unix shell, version control with Git, Python or R programming, and SQL databases.
- Data Carpentry Lesson program teaching foundational data skills to researchers, covering topics such as data organization, data cleaning, and data analysis using tools relevant to specific research domains.
- Library Carpentry Lesson program focused on teaching software and data skills to library and information science professionals, covering topics such as data cleanup, APIs, and data visualization.
- Instructor Training Certification program that trains individuals to become certified Carpentries instructors, teaching learner-centered teaching methodologies and Carpentries curricula.
- Instructor Trainer Training Advanced training program for experienced instructors to become trainers who can train new Carpentries instructors.
- Collaborative Lesson Development Training Program teaching collaborative lesson development methodologies for community members who want to develop and contribute new Carpentries-style lessons.
- Workshops (Centrally-Organised and Self-Organised) Hands-on, small-group, interactive workshops teaching foundational coding, data, and computational skills. Centrally-Organised workshops include instructor recruitment, registration setup, and ongoing support; Self-Organised workshops are free and independently planned.
Quantifiable outcome
- 4988 workshops delivered globally
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use The Carpentries
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
The Carpentries technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
The Carpentries partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered affiliated and core.
- US-RSE (US Research Software Engineer Association)affiliatedAffiliated organization collaborating on open science initiatives. The Carpentries participates in US-RSE programs as part of their open science ecosystem partnerships.
- Partner OrganisationscoreInstitutional partners that sponsor workshops, support instructor training at their organizations, and contribute to The Carpentries mission. Partners receive recognition, access to instructor training, and involvement in organizational governance.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
The Carpentries competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Posit (formerly RStudio): Commercial maintainer of R, RStudio IDE, and Quarto — provides training resources and sponsors The Carpentries while also offering its own paid instruction and certification, creating both a partnership and a partial competitive overlap in R/Python training for researchers.
- The Turing Way: Community-led open-source handbook for reproducible, ethical, and collaborative data science — overlaps with Carpentries' reproducibility and open-science curriculum, serving a similar research audience but as a handbook rather than workshop program.
Direct peers
- DataCamp: Commercial data science and coding education platform offering interactive courses in Python, R, SQL, and Git — directly overlapping Carpentries' Software Carpentry and Data Carpentry curricula, but delivered asynchronously rather than via live workshops.
- Dataquest: Subscription-based data science and Python training platform with project-based curricula — competes directly with Data Carpentry's data analysis and Python content but targets individual learners rather than research institutions.
- Software Sustainability Institute: UK-based non-profit training researchers in sustainable software development practices — historically aligned with Software Carpentry and overlapping in mission, audience, and training content for academic researchers.
Others
- Mozilla Foundation: Non-profit foundation supporting open web and digital literacy — adjacent to Carpentries in open-source education mission and competes for similar philanthropic funding from tech-aligned foundations.
- NumFOCUS: Non-profit supporting open-source scientific computing projects (NumPy, pandas, Jupyter) — adjacent ecosystem partner that shares Carpentries' open-science audience and often co-funds training initiatives but does not deliver direct instruction.
Broad incumbents
- Codecademy: Commercial interactive coding education platform covering Python, Git, command line, and SQL — overlaps with Carpentries' Software Carpentry curriculum but is consumer/professional-skills focused rather than research-focused.
- Coursera: Large MOOC platform offering university-affiliated courses in data science, programming, and research methods — competes for the same learner audience as The Carpentries but at much broader scale and via recorded rather than instructor-led live delivery.
- edX: University-backed MOOC platform providing courses in computer science, data analysis, and research skills from institutions like Harvard and MIT — broader in scope than Carpentries but overlapping in foundational research-computing content.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
The Carpentries social profiles
Digital presenceThe Carpentries financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Carpentries leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
The Carpentries funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Carpentries 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 The Carpentries
What does The Carpentries do?
The Carpentries delivers community-developed, hands-on workshops that teach foundational coding, data, and computational skills to researchers worldwide through three lesson programs (Software Carpentry, Data Carpentry, Library Carpentry). The organization also runs instructor certification training, peer-reviewed lesson development platforms, and supports a global volunteer network of 5,456 certified instructors across 72 countries. Lesson materials are open-source under CC-BY 4.0, and workshops are delivered via two models: centrally-organized (fee-based with administrative support) and self-organized (free, independent).
Is The Carpentries a public or private company?
The Carpentries is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was The Carpentries founded?
The Carpentries was founded in 2017. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is The Carpentries based?
The Carpentries is headquartered in Oakland, United States, in the North America region.
How does The Carpentries make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Workshop Administrative Fees are the primary driver. The others are partnership Program and donations and Grants.
Who are The Carpentries's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Posit (formerly RStudio) and The Turing Way. Direct peers are DataCamp, Dataquest and Software Sustainability Institute. Others are Mozilla Foundation and NumFOCUS. Broad incumbents are Codecademy, Coursera and edX.
Does The Carpentries have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Carpentries.
What industry is The Carpentries in?
The Carpentries's product category is Research Data Science Education and Training. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAEANAL, Train-the-Trainer & Instructor Enablement Services, with a secondary code of EDAFAHAB, Instructional Design & Storyboarding Platforms. Its NAICS code is 61142 and its SIC code is 8200.