US-based online education marketplace Udemy received $50m in funding from distance learning, senior nursing and childcare services provider Benesse yesterday at a $2bn valuation.
Udemy runs an online marketplace where some 57,000 instructors teach more than 150,000 courses covering a wide range of topics from data science to team building.
The company also operates an enterprise platform called Udemy for Business that focuses on employee training and development. Clients can host their own materials and give staff access to an existing catalogue of external courses.
The Benesse investment will be used by Udemy to drive international growth. It intends to expand its headquarters in San Francisco as well as a second US office in the state of Colorado while strengthening international locations in Ireland, India, Brazil and Turkey.
Tamotsu Adachi, president and CEO of Benesse, will represent the company on Udemy’s board of directors. He said: “Access to the latest workplace skills is crucial for success everywhere, including Japan; and Udemy is the world’s largest marketplace enabling professional transformation.
“With this partnership, we envision a world where more people can continue to learn continuously throughout their lives. Udemy and Benesse are incredibly synergistic businesses. This investment is the next progression in our business relationship and demonstrates our confidence in what we can accomplish together.”
Udemy has now received $223m in equity financing altogether. It received $60m in series D funding in 2016 from Naspers Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiary of media and e-commerce group Naspers that evolved into Prosus Ventures when Naspers spun off its consumer internet assets into a listed business called Prosus.
Growth equity firm Stripes Group led the round’s $65m first tranche in 2015, investing with existing backers Norwest Venture Partners and Insight Partners. Earlier investors in Udemy also include Lightbank, MHS Capital, Learn Capital, 500 Startups and Signia Venture Partners.
Photo courtesy of Udemy.
