In October, Class Central wrote about CreativeLive shutting down on December 31, 2025. That article led to a series of events that actually saved the platform. Just two weeks before the deadline, on December 15, CourseHorse, an online marketplace of live classes, workshops, and experiences, acquired it for an undisclosed amount. The website is no longer closing at the end of the year.
In 2021, Fiverr acquired it for $11 million. Four years later, in May 2025, the platform stopped accepting new registrations. The reason was the unsustainable business model — offering free, long courses, especially when the attention span was declining, was a challenge.
Expansion Plans for CreativeLive
CourseHorse CEO Mourad Kattan’s buyout process began soon after the shutdown announcement.
“After we read about it on Class Central, we reached out to previous owners, completed the deal quickly, reopened the website and kept the operations going.”
– Mourad Kattan (CEO, CourseHorse)
CreativeLive, which wasn’t taking up new users, reopened registrations on December 16, 2025. Learners can sign up for individual, self-paced courses. Subscription models are currently under discussion, but existing CreativeLive subscribers will continue to receive access until the end of their current term.
“Users will be able to create accounts and buy courses again. Previously, the ability to create a new account and to register for courses was disabled unless you were already a customer. That is effective immediately,” said Kattan. “Self-paced courses are available, like we’ve always had. New subscriptions are not available yet, but we will announce our subscription plans in the coming weeks or months.”
In addition to existing courses, CreativeLive will introduce more courses from CourseHorse partners. CourseHorse works with more than 1,500 class providers in New York City, Los Angeles, and more.
The catalog will entail career and hobby-oriented courses. With quantity, Kattan also mentioned his plans to invest in building course quality. “We will expand and update our course catalog, and add live courses from our various partners in design, coding, marketing, business, architecture, and more,” he said.
An Upgrade on CreativeLive’s Mission
CreativeLive launched in 2010 as a premium learning platform for creatives. Its USP was live sessions with world-class instructors — Oscar winners, best-selling authors, Pulitzer winners, entrepreneurs, and more.
When its founder, Chase Jarvis, spoke about the shutdown, he mentioned that he had offered to purchase the company in 2024, but Fiverr declined. CreativeLive was still functioning back then.
This year, Fiverr’s stock has fallen nearly 40% this year, and is currently trading at 90% below its five-year price. Its active buyers also fell from 4.3 million (in 2022) to 3.3 million (Q3 2025). Plus, it laid off 30% of its staff (250 employees out of 762) in September 2025, to transform into an AI-first company. A month later, it announced that CreativeLive was shutting down.
Kattan started the buyout process in November and finally took over on December 15. He is sticking to CreativeLive’s original mission of empowering creators and entrepreneurs.
“CreativeLive has an outstanding library of content, and we’re going to keep it true to its mission of providing high-quality content and expanding into new areas — AI, video editing, and UX design, and more business skills that freelancers would need,” he said.
The expansion plan also involves improving the quality of instruction through live streams.
“We’re looking at introducing premium courses that have more live instructor support, where learners could get high-quality videos and projects, but also have access to an instructor to ask questions, review their projects, or discuss their business or their freelance path.”
– Mourad Kattan (CEO, CourseHorse)
Overall, Kattan mentioned that he’s committed to the content and the longevity of the platform.
Disclaimer: CourseHorse is a Class Central partner.
The post CreativeLive is Live Again: CourseHorse Acquires Platform 15 Days Before Shutdown appeared first on The Report by Class Central.
