Published June 29. 2021 6:23PM Nick Anderson, The Washington Post Get the weekly rundown Email* Submit Nine years ago, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University teamed up to create a nonprofit platform called edX to deliver a curated selection of online courses from prominent universities, available free to the world. It was a major player in a movement that promised to be a game changer for higher education. Now in a deal announced Tuesday, the education technology company 2U Inc. is purchasing edX and its assets for $800 million in cash. The proceeds will fund a nonprofit venture by MIT and Harvard to explore new initiatives in online education.