Telstra Ventures, the venture capital firm backed by telecommunications company Telstra and private equity firm Harbourvest, has led a $31m series B round for US-based adult online mentorship service Springboard.
The round included Pearson Ventures, textbook publisher Pearson’s investment arm, as well as Vulcan Capital, SJF Ventures, Costanoa Ventures, Reach Capital, International Finance Corporation (IFC), 500 Startups, Blue Fog Capital and Learn Capital.
Springboard runs an online platform that offers guided courses to learners along with mentorship from specialised advisers. The series B proceeds will fund recruitment-focused products as the number of unemployed adults rises worldwide.
The round brought Springboard’s overall funding to more than $53m and came after an $11m post-series A round in December 2019 featuring $2m from Pearson Ventures and additional cash from Reach Capital, IFC, Costanoa Ventures, Learn Capital and Blue Fog Capital.
Costanoa Ventures, Learn Capital and Blue Fog Capital participated in the December round as existing investors. The company’s earlier backers also include Rocketship.vc, Moneta Ventures and Jyoti Bansal.
Telstra Ventures principal Albert Bielinko said: “The education sector is facing a tectonic shift. As enterprises and countries alike seek more and better talent with digital skill sets, the technology training market is set to explode.
“We invested in Springboard because the strong educational and job placement outcomes achieved by its students are a big differentiator. Springboard’s highly personalised approach is built with the online learner in mind first, not as an afterthought, and offers a life-changing value proposition for Springboard’s graduates.”
