DataCamp has completed its acquisition of Optima, a UAE-based AI-native learning platform, in a move that strengthens its global product capabilities and marks its first major regional initiative to expand free learning access across the Middle East. The transaction brings Optima’s full team into DataCamp and appoints founder and CEO Yusuf Saber as Chief AI Officer, a role he will lead from the UAE.
The acquisition arrives during a period of significant growth for DataCamp. The company is cash flow positive and is on track to surpass $100 million in annual recurring revenue by 2026. Its eighteen million learner community and six thousand enterprise customers include employees across eighty percent of the Fortune 1000, with significant representation from global technology companies, financial institutions, pharmaceutical leaders, and household retail and manufacturing brands.
Optima’s platform delivers personalized, real-time learning experiences by adjusting the pace of lessons, explanations, and feedback to each learner. Its technology already powers key DataCamp curriculum and will be integrated more broadly across the platform over the next six months. Optima’s customer footprint includes leading Middle Eastern technology companies such as Talabat and Careem as well as large enterprises including ADQ.
As part of the acquisition, DataCamp is launching DataCamp Classrooms in the UAE, offering educators and students free access to a library of over 500 courses spanning Python, SQL, Java, Machine Learning, Power BI, Cloud Computing, and other core data and AI skills. For the first time in the Middle East, UAE government employees and students will also receive complimentary access to DataCamp’s popular Intro to AI coursework for a period of six months.
The launch aligns with the UAE National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031, which prioritizes the development of local talent and broad-based upskilling to position the country as a global hub for AI. DataCamp’s expanding role in the region aims to support these goals by providing modern tools that help learners advance quickly and by offering enterprises upgraded capabilities to future-proof their workforces.
Optima had previously raised $1.1 million in seed funding from COTU Ventures and notable angel investors, including founders and senior executives from Careem, Kitopi, Talabat, and Docebo. With its integration into DataCamp, the combined platform is positioned to accelerate further innovation in personalized, AI-driven learning at a moment when global enterprises are rapidly adopting new AI tools and investing in continuous workforce development.
KEY QUOTES:
“Optima was built in the UAE to embed intelligence directly into the learning experience, so we can intuitively adjust each lesson to who a learner is and what they already know, and equip them to succeed in the global AI economy. From our first conversation with the DataCamp team, it was clear how much our visions aligned. By bringing Optima’s AI native learning experience into DataCamp’s global platform, and by creating free access for government employees, educators, and students, we have an opportunity to set a new standard for how people in the country learn online.”
Yusuf Saber, Founder and CEO of Optima and Chief AI Officer of DataCamp
“DataCamp is turning the page on an era of online learning defined by static and generic content. The field of data and AI is evolving faster than ever, and DataCamp is focusing on dynamic, human centered learning to help people and organizations thrive amid upheaval. With the Optima team now part of DataCamp, we’ve never been better placed to redefine how organizations move their people along the learning curve.”
Jonathan Cornelissen, Co Founder and CEO of DataCamp
