US-based open access education platform Coursera raised $49.5m today for the first close of a series C round featuring Times Internet, the internet subsidiary of media company Times Group.
The round so far is being led by led by venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and also includes Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) and International Finance Corporation (IFC), the investment arm of the World Bank.
The company expects to close out the round at $60m and has lined up existing backers GSV Asset Management and Learn Capital for the second close.
Coursera offers a platform through which users can take online classes from more than 120 universities and educational organisations including Yale University, University of Edinburgh and Peking University.
The capital will be used to source new content and expand Coursera’s business internationally, with Latin America, China and India its primary focuses. It has also formed an alliance with India-based Times Internet, which will provide marketing and strategic support for Coursera in India.
Satyan Gajwani, CEO of Times Internet, said: “Coursera is the gold standard for the emerging wave of education technology companies. We are excited to bring Times Internet’s growth capabilities behind such a strong product, and bring high quality, affordable digital education to millions of Indians.”
Coursera has now raised approximately $134m since it was founded in 2012, including $63m in a 2013 series B round featuring higher education network Laureate Education, NEA, GSV, Learn Capital, IFC, KPCB, Yuri Milner, University of Pennsylvania, California Institute of Technology and three undisclosed university investors.