ApplyBoard, the Canada-based international student facilitation service that counts educational services firm Educational Testing Service (ETS) as an investor, confirmed a C$375m ($308m) series D round yesterday.
Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board led the round through its Teachers’ Innovation Platform, and it included investment and financial services group Fidelity in addition to BDC, Harmonic Growth Partners, Index Ventures, Garage Capital and Blue Cloud Ventures.
The company’s confirmation of the funding came in the wake of media reports last week suggesting it had raised $230m in the round, which it said this week valued it at $3.2bn post-money.
ApplyBoard’s online platform enables students to search for overseas higher education placements in addition to helping them with their applications. It has doubled its staff numbers to more than 1,000 in the past year and introduced a document authentication tool dubbed ApplyProof.
Martin Basiri, ApplyBoard’s co-founder and CEO, said: “Education has the power to change lives and bring peace to the world, and ApplyBoard is more committed than ever to helping the millions of students who are dreaming of studying abroad.
“With limited international travel over the past year, we are seeing pent-up demand from students looking to study abroad. We are excited for what this new investment will allow us to accomplish to help our students, partner institutions and recruitment partners, so that our industry can build back better in a post-covid world.”
ApplyBoard said it has now raised about $475m since it was founded in 2015, ETS joined Index Ventures, Blue Cloud Ventures, Harmonic Growth Partners and undisclosed others to provide $53m for the company in September 2020, expanding its series C round to $125m.
Fidelity, BDC, Drive Capital Garage Capital, Plug and Play Tech Center and existing backers Anthos Capital and Artiman Ventures had provided the round’s first $75m. ApplyBoard’s earlier investors include 500 Startups, Candou Ventures and Think+.
