Emeritus, an education upskilling company, has announced a $650 million funding round, through a mix of primary and secondary funding, which values the company at $3.2 billion, quadrupling its Series D valuation from August, 2020. The investment was led by Accel and SoftBank Vision Fund 2.
Accel and SoftBank Vision Fund 2 join Emeritus’ returning investors, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Leeds Illuminate and Prosus, who participated in the round, and existing investors, Sequoia Capital India and Bertelsmann. The Series E funding follows Emeritus’ recent $200 million acquisition of iD Tech.
Proceeds from the round will be used by the company to develop new courses in conjunction with university partners, create new products and industry verticals, expand the company’s business serving governments and enterprises, double-down on new geographical markets, and fund acquisitions.
“The unbundling of higher education and continued learning has only just started. We have known Ashwin and the team at Emeritus for a number of years and have always been impressed by their approach and execution. We believe that the platform and deep partnerships with the world’s best universities puts Emeritus and its partner universities at the forefront of this revolution in higher education. Their products are helping bring the best quality education to students around the world at affordable prices,” said Anand Daniel, Partner at Accel.
“Emeritus is truly a global company – from the world class institutions with which we collaborate, to our 1400 person team based in 14 countries, and the learners we educate around the world,” said Ashwin Damera, co-founder and CEO. “This fundraise will help Emeritus continue to expand its mission of making high quality education accessible and affordable to learners across the world.”
“Emeritus partners with top-tier and Ivy League universities to reach new students from around the world,” said Munish Varma, Managing Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers. “The company is helping professional learners upskill themselves on a variety of subjects from the best and the brightest instructors at an affordable price. We look forward to partnering with Ashwin Damera and the Emeritus team to accelerate growth around the world.”
Arya has been a part of the Content & Research Team at Hrnxt.com. She is a keen observer of economic developments, emerging businesses, people in business and keeps a tab on latest happenings in the business environment.