Udemy, a US-based online education marketplace backed by correspondence learning provider Benesse and media and e-commerce group Naspers, has increased its valuation to $3.25bn in a $50m series F round.
The company said the cash was supplied by education technology and growth funds including venture capital firm Learn Capital. The placement agent for the round was Goldman Sachs.
Founded in 2010, Udemy operates an online platform where users can learn new skills, and offers about 130,000 courses spanning professional subjects such as programming or team building.
Gregg Coccari, Udemy’s chief executive, said: “To succeed in today’s rapidly changing world requires new skills and a focus on continuous learning.
“This year upended everything about how we live and work, and people everywhere turned to online learning to help them meet new challenges. We are perfectly positioned to meet these demands and help drive success for individuals, businesses and governments.”
The latest round increased the company’s overall funding to $283m. Benesse provided its last financing, investing $50m at a $2bn valuation in February this year.
Udemy closed its series D round at $125m in 2016, having raised the money from Naspers Ventures, the corporate venturing unit since rolled out into venture capital group Prosus Ventures, as well as Stripes Group, Norwest Venture Partners (NVP) and Insight Partners.
NVP, Insight Partners and Learn Capital were all among the company’s earlier backers, as were Lightbank, MHS Capital, 500 Startups and Signia Venture Partners.
