Instructure is one of those edtech companies that millions of students and teachers use every single day — often without even knowing the company’s name. They just know Canvas. The learning management system has become the backbone of digital education at universities, K-12 schools, and corporate training programs across the globe. But the question of who actually owns Instructure today is one that trips up a lot of people.
The short answer: Instructure is currently owned by KKR, a leading global investment firm, and Dragoneer Investment Group, a growth-oriented investor, who completed their acquisition for $23.60 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $4.8 billion. Here’s the full story of how Instructure went from a BYU dorm room idea to one of the biggest edtech acquisitions in history.
Instructure — Company Highlights
| Full Name | Instructure Holdings, Inc. |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Founders | Brian Whitmer & Devlin Daley |
| Headquarters | Salt Lake City, Utah, USA |
| Current Owner | KKR & Dragoneer Investment Group (since November 2024) |
| Type | Private company (taken off NYSE after acquisition) |
| Known For | Canvas LMS, Parchment, Mastery Connect |
| CEO | Steve Daly |
| Users | ~200 million learners in 100+ countries |
Who Owns Instructure?
Instructure, a leading learning ecosystem, announced the close of its acquisition by investment funds managed by KKR, a leading global investment firm, and Dragoneer, a growth-oriented investor, for $23.60 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at an enterprise value of approximately $4.8 billion.
Following the completion of this deal, Instructure transitioned from a public entity to a private company, leading to the delisting of INST stock from the NYSE.
| Owner / Stakeholder | Ownership Type | Period | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Whitmer & Devlin Daley | Private – Founding team | 2008–2015 | Founded company as BYU graduate students |
| Josh Coates & early investors | Private – Venture-backed | 2010–2015 | Mozy founder Josh Coates served as CEO |
| Public shareholders (NYSE: INST) | Public – IPO | 2015–2020 | First IPO on New York Stock Exchange |
| Thoma Bravo | Private – PE majority owner | 2020–2024 | Took company private for $2B; re-IPO’d in 2021 |
| KKR & Dragoneer Investment Group | Private – Corporate acquisition | Nov 2024–Present | Acquired for $4.8B; current owners |
The Founders — Where It All Started
Instructure was founded in 2008 by two BYU graduate students, Brian Whitmer and Devlin Daley.
From a BYU dorm-room idea in 2008, the company launched Canvas in 2011 and hit 9 million users by 2013 as institutions embraced its open-source LMS.
Initial funding came from Mozy founder Josh Coates, who served as Instructure’s CEO from 2010 to 2018 and chairman of the board through 2020.
Key Milestones and History
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 2008 | Founded by Brian Whitmer and Devlin Daley, two BYU graduate students |
| 2011 | Canvas LMS officially launched |
| 2013 | Reaches 9 million users globally |
| 2015 | First IPO on NYSE under ticker INST |
| 2020 | $2 billion take-private by Thoma Bravo |
| 2021 | Instructure again filed for an IPO, and began trading under the symbol INST |
| 2024 | Acquisition of Parchment for $835 million |
| Nov 2024 | KKR and Dragoneer completed their purchase of the company for $4.8 billion |
| July 2025 | Instructure and OpenAI announced a global partnership to embed OpenAI’s technology directly within the Canvas learning environment |
The Owners — Who Are KKR and Dragoneer?
KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts)
KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets.
Dragoneer Investment Group
Dragoneer Investment Group is a growth-oriented investment firm with over $23 billion under management and a flexible mandate to invest in high-quality businesses in both the public and private markets. For over a decade, Dragoneer has partnered with management teams to grow exceptional companies. Dragoneer has been an investor in companies such as Airbnb, Atlassian, Datadog, Doordash, Slack, Snowflake, Spotify, Uber, and others.
Leadership — Then and Now
Instructure’s current CEO, Steve Daly, and its management team remained in place following the KKR acquisition.
Through the acquisition, Instructure’s goal is to grow and scale its products, earn $1 billion in revenue by 2028, and remain a market leader in learning management solutions.
What’s Next — The OpenAI Partnership
On July 23, 2025, Instructure and OpenAI announced a global partnership that introduces a new integration enabling teachers to create Large Language Model (LLM) workflows directly in the LMS.
As of 2025, Canvas holds a 47% market share when scaled by enrollment, surpassing the combined market share of its top three competitors — Blackboard, D2L Brightspace, and Moodle — with widespread adoption across 11,342 global institutions.
My Take on Instructure
Instructure doesn’t get enough credit for how quietly dominant it has become. Canvas is now the default LMS for nearly half of all higher education students in the US, and the company has built that position methodically — first through open-source roots, then through smart acquisitions like Parchment, and now through an AI partnership with OpenAI that could define the next decade of edtech.
The KKR acquisition signals serious long-term investment, not a quick flip. With a target of $1 billion in revenue by 2028 and AI now baked directly into the platform, the foundation is as solid as it gets in education technology. The real question is whether Instructure can maintain the trust of educators and institutions as it moves faster and scales bigger — because in edtech, trust is everything.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Who owns Instructure today?
Instructure is currently owned by KKR and Dragoneer Investment Group, who completed their acquisition in November 2024 for $4.8 billion.
Q: Who founded Instructure?
Instructure was founded in 2008 by Brian Whitmer and Devlin Daley, two graduate students at Brigham Young University (BYU).
Q: What is Instructure best known for?
Instructure is best known for Canvas LMS, one of the world’s most widely used learning management systems, used by schools, universities, and corporations globally.
Q: Is Instructure a public company?
No. After the KKR acquisition in November 2024, INST stock was delisted from the NYSE and Instructure became a private company.
Q: Who was the previous owner of Instructure?
Before KKR, Thoma Bravo was the majority owner, holding approximately 83% stake after taking the company private in 2020.
Q: What is Instructure’s revenue?
Instructure reported record 2023 revenue of $530.2 million (up 11.6%) and Adjusted EBITDA of $214.2 million (up 19.3%), with 2024 revenue guidance of $655.0–$665.0 million.
Q: What is Instructure’s partnership with OpenAI?
The partnership allows educators to build LLM workflows and create customized GPT-style experiences directly within Canvas LMS through a feature called LLM-Enabled Assignment.
