Short answers, pulled from the story.
MasterClass was founded by David Rogier while he was a student at Stanford University, with Aaron Rasmussen joining as co-founder and chief technology officer. Rogier continues to serve as chief executive officer, while Rasmussen left the company in January 2017.
MasterClass launched under that name on the 12th of May 2015, after being registered as Yanka Industries, Inc. It began with three instructors, growing to include twelve additional classes by 2017.
MasterClass began with $4.5 million in initial funding and $1.9 million across two seed rounds, followed by $15 million in 2016, $35 million in 2017, and $80 million in 2018. It later raised $100 million in May 2020 and $225 million in May 2021, reaching a valuation of $2.75 billion according to CNBC.
Kevin Spacey's acting class was removed from MasterClass in late 2017 after multiple sexual assault allegations were publicly made against him.
MasterClass won a James Beard Foundation Broadcast Media Award in 2019 for Dominique Ansel's class on French pastries. It also won two Webby Awards in 2020, two more Webby Awards in 2021, and a Webby People's Voice Award in 2021.
MasterClass laid off 20% of its staff in June 2022, citing a worsening macroeconomic environment.