Singapore VC firm Amasia joins edtech startup Skillshare’s US$28M Series C round
US-based Skillshare is an online learning community with classes in creative, business and tech disciplines
Skillshare, an online learning community with classes in creative, business and tech disciplines, today announced it has closed US$28 million in Series C round of funding.
The round comprises US$20 million in equity funding (which was led by existing investor Union Square Ventures), and a US$8 million in venture debt. German VC firm Burda Principal Investments and other existing investors, including Singapore-based Amasia and Spero Ventures, also joined.
US-headquartered Skillshare will use the financing to accelerate growth and expand its learning ecosystem, which serves the growing independent workforce.
Matt Cooper, CEO of Skillshare, said: “Over the last twelve months we’ve experienced greater than 100 per cent revenue growth, much of which was driven by what we call the ‘Independent Class.’ This group is made up of the fast-growing freelance workforce as well as entrepreneurs and other independent-minded individuals who realize the necessity of continuous learning in today’s rapidly changing economy. As these groups make up larger segments of the overall population, our platform will continue to gain traction.”
Founded in 2010, the Skillshare community is comprised of over five million students and thousands of teachers, from 100-plus countries, who come to the open-platform to learn cutting-edge skills, network with peers and discover new opportunities. Students can enrol in hundreds of free classes, or unlock unlimited access to the full class catalog by upgrading to premium for a low, monthly rate. Skillshare teachers include both industry leaders (such as author and speaker Simon Sinek and notable designer Aaron Draplin) and talented practitioners who have built a following and a significant passive income stream through the site.
“Skillshare’s subscription model and affordable price make its ever-growing catalog of classes broadly accessible,” commented Albert Wenger, Managing Partner at Union Square Ventures. “That’s a powerful model as it keeps the price of marginal usage at zero, allowing members to try classes risk-free and explore new paths of learning across a wide number of disciplines. In that regard, it’s like a Netflix for learning. Additionally, as Skillshare’s member base has grown, its platform has begun to evolve into a thriving online community where members gain value not just from taking classes, but also by collaborating and interacting with each other.”
”Today over 40 per cent of Skillshare’s new members are outside the US, almost entirely through word-of-mouth awareness,” said Ramanan Raghavendran, Managing Partner at Amasia. “There is enormous and barely-explored demand for online education in markets outside the US, and the opportunity these markets represent is one of the major reasons we’re so bullish on Skillshare’s prospects going forward.”
Amasia is a venture capital firm based in San Francisco and Singapore, investing primarily in US technology companies from the pre-Series A to Series B stage. It makes just two to four new investments per year.
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