Blackboard to Sell Open LMS Business

Blackboard has announced it will sell its Open LMS business to workplace digital learning and talent management company Learning Technologies Group (LTG). The transaction is expected to close in Q2 2020.

According to a news announcement, the move "enables Blackboard to further simplify its business and accelerate momentum in helping clients move to its software-as-a-service (SaaS) deployment of Learn and Ultra," while allowing the Moodle-based Open LMS to "increase its focus on the innovations and services that are core to its client base."

"This further simplification of our business will enable the company to continue accelerating investment and innovation in our unique ed tech platform that will enable a more personalized experience, fueled by data, to advance learning for our clients," commented Blackboard Chairman, CEO and President Bill Ballhaus, in a statement. "We look forward to the continued growth of Blackboard and Open LMS as separate market-leading businesses serving their respective clients."

Blackboard said it will "continue to provide existing Open LMS clients access to Blackboard products that fully integrate within Open LMS, including Ally, SafeAssign, Collaborate, and Predict."

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Abstract neural network 3D illustration

    IntelĀ® AI EmpowerED: The AI-Ready Campus, Delivered

    Artificial intelligence is transforming higher education, prompting institutions to rethink how they manage infrastructure, security, governance, and workforce readiness. Successful adoption requires a strategic, institution-wide approach that aligns AI initiatives with educational goals, faculty enablement, and scalable operational frameworks.

  • Robot typing on fluorescent keyboard

    The Wrong Battle: Why Your Institution's AI Policy Is Probably Solving the Wrong Problem

    The conversation on most campuses has become consumed with detection: How do we catch students using AI when they shouldn't? The impulse to protect academic integrity is legitimate, but the detection-first approach has a fatal flaw.

  • Neon blue security locks with a single red highlight

    AI Shifts Cybersecurity Focus from Finding Flaws to Fixing Them

    For decades, one of cybersecurity's most difficult challenges has been finding vulnerabilities before attackers do. A growing number of security professionals now say artificial intelligence is changing that equation, shifting the focus from discovering flaws to fixing them quickly enough to prevent exploitation.

  • humanoid robot with circuit board background

    Meta Expands into Physical AI with Acquisition of Robotics AI Startup

    Meta Platforms has acquired Assured Robot Intelligence (ARI), a robotics artificial intelligence startup focused on humanoid systems, as the company expands its AI work beyond software and into models that could help robots operate in physical environments.