Skillshare, the US-based operator of an online adult learning platform, completed a $20m funding round yesterday that included Burda Principal Investments, a corporate venturing vehicle for media group Hubert Burda.
Union Square Ventures (USV) led the round, which also featured venture capital firms Amasia and Spero Ventures, and which was closed alongside $8m in venture debt.
Skillshare operates an online platform with more than 5 million registered users that offers some 20,000 classes covering creative, business and technology fields, targeting independent workers. It will channel the latest funding into expanding the number of classes it offers.
Christian Teichmann, managing partner at Burda Principal Investments, said: “We are excited to partner with Skillshare.
“The Skillshare platform, particularly its subscription-based marketplace model and premium video content, are both strong differentiators and core to our investment strategy, and we look forward to working with the Skillshare team to further scale and expand their business.”
The round brought the company’s overall funding to $42m and comes after a $12m series B round in May 2016 that was co-led by Amasia and Omidyar Network and backed by USV and Spark Capital. The latter two had previously co-led a $6.1m round for Skillshare in 2014.