Gagan Biyani – Founder & Chairman of Maven

Gagan Biyani – Founder & Chairman of Maven

Gagan Biyani is an American technology entrepreneur best known as the co-founder of Udemy and the founder of Maven, a platform for expert-led, live online learning. After six years building Maven as its CEO, Biyani transitioned to Chairman of Maven's Board in September 2026, with Rishin Banker taking over as CEO.

Biyani's entrepreneurial career has moved through several different technology categories. He helped build Udemy into one of the world's major online-learning marketplaces, founded and led the on-demand food company Sprig, and later returned to education with Maven.

His career is particularly notable because his companies have repeatedly explored ways to change how people learn, work, and access expertise.

At Udemy, the idea was to create an open marketplace where people could teach and learn online. At Maven, Biyani pursued a different model: live, cohort-based learning led by practitioners and experts.

In 2026, Maven entered another stage of its development. Biyani announced that the company had crossed $100 million in instructor course sales, with more than 100,000 employees at major technology companies using Maven for learning and AI upskilling. He also said the company was expanding into B2B learning, with organizations including Notion, Lattice, and Salesforce using Maven for AI-upskilling initiatives.

Who Is Gagan Biyani?

Gagan Biyani is a technology entrepreneur, founder, and former CEO best known for his role in building two generations of online education companies.

His first major startup was Udemy, which he co-founded with Eren Bali and Oktay Caglar. Udemy began in 2010 and launched its first courses in 2011. The company eventually became a global online learning marketplace and went public on the Nasdaq in 2021.

Biyani later founded Sprig, an on-demand food company that operated in the San Francisco Bay Area and raised approximately $57 million before shutting down in 2017.

In 2020, he returned to education by co-founding Maven with Wes Kao and Shreyans Bhansali. Maven initially focused on cohort-based courses before evolving toward expert-led professional education.

As of September 2026, Biyani's operating role at Maven has changed. He is now Chairman of the Board, while Rishin Banker serves as CEO.

Education and Early Career

Biyani studied economics at the University of California, Berkeley, graduating in 2008.

His professional career began outside traditional technology startups.

After graduating, Biyani worked as a business analyst at Accenture. He later became interested in the technology industry and began writing for TechCrunch, where he covered mobile applications and technology companies. His own account of this period describes how reading technology blogs and following the startup ecosystem helped him move from an unfamiliarity with Silicon Valley into the center of its startup culture.

His experience as a technology writer was particularly valuable because it exposed him to founders, investors, emerging products, and the mechanics of early-stage companies.

Rather than following a conventional corporate career, Biyani increasingly moved toward entrepreneurship.

The Road to Udemy

Biyani's path toward Udemy began during his time at Berkeley.

While attending the university, he noticed that students did not necessarily need to be physically present in classrooms to access educational content. Some lectures were available online, allowing students to learn remotely. That experience helped shape his interest in online education.

He eventually met Eren Bali and Oktay Caglar, who were working on the idea that the internet could make high-quality education available to a much larger audience.

In 2010, the three became co-founders of Udemy.

Udemy's founding team believed that the internet could connect people who had valuable knowledge with people who wanted to learn. Rather than building a conventional university, they developed a marketplace where instructors could create courses and students could purchase access.

Udemy's first courses appeared online in 2011. Within three years, the platform had more than one million learners.

Gagan Biyani at Udemy

Biyani served as co-founder and president of Udemy during its early years.

His responsibilities included many of the commercial functions necessary to establish the marketplace, including marketing, instructor acquisition, business development, fundraising, and public relations.

One of the important lessons from Udemy was the difficulty of creating a two-sided marketplace.

The company needed both instructors willing to create courses and students willing to pay for them. Without enough instructors, students had limited reasons to visit. Without students, instructors had little reason to invest their time in the platform.

Biyani became deeply involved in solving this marketplace problem.

His early experience also exposed him to the challenges of startup fundraising. In a 2026 reflection on Udemy's early years, he recalled that the company struggled for roughly its first 18 months, rebuilt its core product, and accumulated significant personal credit-card debt before eventually raising institutional funding.

The eventual outcome was dramatically different.

Udemy grew into a major online learning platform, established Udemy Business for organizations, and eventually became a publicly traded company.

Udemy officially listed on the Nasdaq in October 2021.

Leaving Udemy and Starting Sprig

Biyani eventually left Udemy and moved into a completely different category: food delivery.

In 2013, he co-founded Sprig, an on-demand meal-delivery company based in San Francisco.

The concept was ambitious. Instead of simply connecting restaurants with customers, Sprig controlled much more of the experience, including food preparation and delivery.

Customers could order ready-to-eat meals through a mobile application, with the company promising rapid delivery.

Sprig launched publicly in November 2013 and initially raised $1.2 million in seed funding.

The company subsequently raised additional capital, including a $10 million Series A led by Greylock Partners and a $45 million Series B led by Social Capital and Greylock. By 2015, total funding had reached approximately $57 million.

Biyani served as Sprig's CEO.

The Sprig Experience

Sprig attempted to solve a different consumer problem from the one Biyani had addressed at Udemy.

The company wanted to make high-quality meals as convenient as fast food.

Its model combined food preparation, technology, logistics, and delivery. Customers ordered through the mobile app, while Sprig prepared meals in its own kitchens and delivered them to customers.

The business expanded beyond San Francisco into the broader Bay Area and Chicago.

Biyani described technology and data science as important components of the operation, particularly for routing drivers efficiently and coordinating the complex logistics of food delivery.

However, the model also created substantial operational complexity.

Unlike marketplaces that simply connect restaurants with customers, Sprig carried significant costs associated with food preparation, kitchens, inventory, and delivery.

Ultimately, the economics proved difficult to sustain.

Sprig shut down on May 26, 2017, with Biyani announcing the closure to customers.

The company's failure became an important chapter in Biyani's entrepreneurial career.

Rather than ending his involvement in startups, it became part of the experience he later drew on when building Maven.

Returning to Education With Maven

After Sprig shut down, Biyani spent several years away from operating a startup.

He eventually returned to education.

In 2020, Biyani co-founded Maven with Wes Kao and Shreyans Bhansali. The company's initial concept centered on cohort-based courses: online classes where students learn together during a defined period and interact directly with an instructor and classmates.

This was different from the largely self-paced model that had made Udemy successful.

Instead of simply watching recorded videos, Maven's courses emphasized live teaching, community, interaction, accountability, and direct access to experts.

Biyani described the broader ambition as building the "university of the future."

Maven's Early Growth

Maven's initial launch attracted considerable attention.

The company raised a $20 million Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz, bringing the company significant venture backing early in its development.

Maven initially targeted creators and influencers who could turn their knowledge and audiences into cohort-based courses.

But the company eventually discovered that audience size alone was not enough.

Biyani later described how Maven's early launch generated rapid sales, but the company discovered that its product was heavily dependent on behind-the-scenes support from the Maven team.

In a 2024 reflection, he said the company eventually shifted its focus from follower counts toward real professional expertise and improved instructor revenue retention substantially.

This became one of the most important strategic changes in Maven's development.

From Creators to Experts

Maven eventually repositioned itself around experts and practitioners rather than simply creators with large audiences.

The idea was that professionals with valuable experience could teach specialized skills even if they did not have enormous social-media followings.

This created a different kind of education marketplace.

Instead of competing primarily with universities or massive course libraries, Maven positioned itself around specialized professional education.

Courses could focus on subjects such as product management, growth, marketing, leadership, technology, design, and other professional disciplines.

The approach also aligned with a broader change in the labor market: professionals increasingly needed to acquire new skills throughout their careers rather than relying solely on a degree obtained early in life.

Maven and AI Upskilling

Artificial intelligence became a major new opportunity for Maven.

By 2025 and 2026, organizations were under growing pressure to help employees understand and use AI tools in their specific jobs.

Biyani argued that generic AI education was often insufficient because different roles require different workflows.

A designer, product manager, engineer, marketer, researcher, and executive may all use AI differently.

Maven increasingly responded to this need by developing AI-focused courses and corporate learning programs.

In September 2026, Biyani said that more than 100,000 employees at major technology companies were using Maven to learn how to get more leverage from AI and develop modern leadership skills.

He also said that 80% of Maven's sales were related to AI skills, according to Rishin Banker's announcement as he became CEO.

Maven's $100 Million Instructor Sales Milestone

One of Maven's most significant recent milestones came in 2026.

Biyani announced that instructors on the platform had collectively generated more than $100 million in course sales. He said that 150 practitioners had earned more than $100,000 on Maven and that 15 had surpassed $1 million in earnings.

The milestone illustrates Maven's marketplace model.

Rather than simply measuring Maven by its own revenue, the company also tracks the economic activity generated by instructors using the platform.

This model gives Maven an incentive to help experts develop successful courses, attract students, and build sustainable education businesses.

Maven's Move Into B2B

Maven's next strategic opportunity is increasingly focused on business customers.

In announcing Rishin Banker's appointment as CEO, Biyani said the company was adding a second major bet: B2B education and AI upskilling.

Companies including Notion, Lattice, and Salesforce have already used Maven for AI-upskilling programs, according to Biyani.

The opportunity is significant because AI adoption creates a learning problem that traditional corporate training programs may not always solve effectively.

Employees need to understand not just what AI is, but how to integrate it into the specific workflows of their jobs.

Maven's expert-led model is designed around that problem.

Gagan Biyani Steps Down as Maven CEO

In September 2026, Biyani announced a major leadership transition.

After six years of building Maven, he said he would step down as CEO and transition to Chairman of the Board.

Rishin Banker became Maven's new CEO. Banker had already spent several years at Maven and previously worked at Teachers Pay Teachers, giving him experience in education marketplaces.

Biyani described the transition as the beginning of Maven's next chapter rather than the end of his involvement.

His continued position as chairman means he remains connected to the company's strategy and governance while giving the new CEO responsibility for day-to-day operations.

Gagan Biyani's Leadership Philosophy

Several themes stand out across Biyani's career.

Start With a Real Problem

Both Udemy and Maven were built around a problem Biyani understood personally.

Udemy addressed access to knowledge and expertise.

Maven addresses professional learning and the difficulty of turning expertise into effective live education.

Biyani's experience suggests a preference for identifying a concrete problem and then building a marketplace around the people who can solve it.

Marketplaces Require Both Sides

His career has also given him extensive experience with marketplace businesses.

Udemy required instructors and students.

Maven requires experts and learners.

Biyani has repeatedly emphasized that creating a marketplace is not simply about attracting users. Both sides must receive enough value to remain engaged.

Learn From Failure

Sprig's shutdown became an important part of Biyani's entrepreneurial history.

The company raised substantial venture funding but ultimately could not build a sustainable model around its combination of food production and delivery.

Rather than treating entrepreneurship as a series of uninterrupted wins, Biyani has spoken openly about the difficult parts of building companies, including early failures, fundraising challenges, product-market fit, and operational mistakes.

That perspective is particularly visible in his writing about Udemy and Maven.

Adapt When the Original Model Stops Working

Maven's evolution also demonstrates Biyani's willingness to change direction.

The company initially focused on creators and cohort-based courses, then moved toward professional experts and specialized education.

Later, AI became a major part of the company's product and B2B strategy.

This willingness to adjust the model has been a recurring feature of Biyani's entrepreneurial career.

Gagan Biyani and AI

AI has become one of Biyani's major areas of interest.

His recent writing focuses heavily on AI adoption, workforce transformation, education, and how companies can help employees use AI effectively.

He has argued that simply giving employees access to AI tools does not guarantee meaningful adoption.

Organizations also need to change workflows, establish standards, provide training, and identify role-specific use cases.

This philosophy is closely connected to Maven's current B2B strategy.

Instead of offering generic AI education, Maven is increasingly positioning itself around specialized learning for different professional functions.

Biyani's role is now more strategic than operational following his transition to chairman, but AI remains central to the direction he describes for Maven.

What Gagan Biyani's Career Says About Entrepreneurship

Biyani's career is unusual because it includes several very different entrepreneurial chapters.

He helped build one of the world's largest online learning marketplaces.

He subsequently founded a food-delivery company that raised tens of millions of dollars but ultimately shut down.

He then returned to education and built another learning marketplace around a different model.

Each company taught him something different.

Udemy demonstrated the power of marketplace-driven online education.

Sprig demonstrated the complexity of operational businesses with significant physical infrastructure.

Maven has combined lessons from both by building a digital marketplace centered on experts and professional knowledge.

That accumulated experience now informs his role as Maven's chairman.

Why Gagan Biyani Matters in EdTech

Biyani's significance in education technology comes from his involvement in two distinct generations of online learning.

At Udemy, he helped establish a model in which anyone with valuable knowledge could create and sell an online course.

At Maven, he pursued a more specialized approach centered on live, expert-led learning.

The two companies reflect different stages in the development of online education.

The first generation focused heavily on making educational content accessible.

The newer model emphasizes interaction, expertise, community, professional outcomes, and continuous upskilling.

Maven's growing focus on AI education adds another dimension: the need for workers to continuously learn as technology changes the requirements of their jobs.

Gagan Biyani's Current Role

As of September 2026, Gagan Biyani is Chairman of Maven, not its CEO.

He remains a co-founder and one of the company's central figures after six years as CEO.

Rishin Banker now leads Maven as CEO, while Biyani is transitioning toward a board-level role and has indicated that he plans to explore new opportunities.

The transition comes as Maven moves into a new phase focused on two major areas: expert-led professional education and B2B AI upskilling.

For Biyani, it also marks another transition in a career that has repeatedly moved between operating companies, entrepreneurship, and education technology.

Key Facts About Gagan Biyani

Category	Details
Full Name	Gagan Biyani
Current Role	Chairman of Maven
Company	Maven
Maven Founded	2020
Former Maven Role	CEO & Co-Founder
Maven CEO Tenure	Approximately 6 years
Current Maven CEO	Rishin Banker
Best Known For	Co-founding Udemy and founding Maven
Udemy Role	Co-Founder & President
Udemy Co-Founders	Eren Bali and Oktay Caglar
Udemy Founded	2010
Udemy IPO	Nasdaq, 2021
Previous Company	Sprig
Sprig Role	Co-Founder & CEO
Sprig Funding	Approximately $57 million
Education	University of California, Berkeley
Degree	B.A. Economics
Industry	EdTech / Online Learning / AI Upskilling
Maven Funding	$25 million publicly reported by 2022
Maven Instructor Sales	$100M+ reported in 2026
Current Focus	Maven strategy, AI upskilling, B2B education

Maven's $25 million known funding figure was reported by TechCrunch in 2022, while the more recent instructor-sales and B2B figures come from Biyani and Maven's 2026 leadership announcements.

Summary

Gagan Biyani is an American technology entrepreneur and the co-founder of Udemy and founder of Maven. His career has spanned online education, food delivery, technology media, and startup entrepreneurship.

He first became widely known through Udemy, which he co-founded with Eren Bali and Oktay Caglar. The company helped establish online course marketplaces as a major category in education technology and eventually became a publicly traded company.

After leaving Udemy, Biyani founded Sprig, an on-demand food company that raised approximately $57 million before shutting down in 2017. The experience gave him another perspective on the challenges of building and scaling a technology-enabled business.

In 2020, Biyani returned to education by co-founding Maven. Over six years as CEO, he helped evolve the company from a cohort-based learning startup into a platform focused on expert-led professional education and AI upskilling.

In September 2026, Biyani handed the CEO role to Rishin Banker and became Chairman of Maven's Board. The transition comes as Maven expands into B2B AI training and builds on more than $100 million in cumulative instructor course sales.

Biyani's broader career illustrates a recurring theme: using technology to change how people access knowledge and expertise. From Udemy's open online marketplace to Maven's expert-led learning model, education has remained a central thread throughout his entrepreneurial career.