[Funding alert] Springboard raises $11M from Reach Capital, others
The post-series A financing round also saw participation from Pearson Ventures, International Finance Corporation (IFC), as well as returning investors Costanoa Ventures, Learn Capital, and Blue Fog Capital.
![[Funding alert] Springboard raises $11M from Reach Capital, others](https://images.yourstory.com/cs/wordpress/2019/01/vivekkumarspringboard1.png?mode=fit&crop=faces&ar=16%3A9&format=auto&w=1920&q=75)
Springboard, a US-based online learning platform for workforce upskilling, which announced the launch of its India operations earlier this year, on Tuesday said it has raised $11 million (over Rs 78 crore) in funding led by Reach Capital.
The post-series A financing round also saw participation by Pearson Ventures, International Finance Corporation (IFC), as well as returning investors Costanoa Ventures, Learn Capital, and Blue Fog Capital.
The company, which has so far raised $20 million in funding, has also partnered with Microsoft to train and place 5,000 students into analytics jobs over the next three years through its new Data Analytics Career Track.
Vivek Kumar
Vivek Kumar, Managing Director, Springboard India, said,
"Working professionals have to significantly upskill or re-skill every 3-5 years to advance in their careers. Our industry-designed programmes combined with in-depth, one-on-one mentorship and career guidance enable people to achieve their full potential.”
He added that the funding will be used to expand operations, add more courses and bring in more talent to strengthen operations.
In January 2019, Springboard launched three programmes in India. Kumar said the company plans to grow its Indian presence with more courses in design and software engineering.
Springboard, Kumar claimed, will take the responsibility of getting students jobs post completion of the course. In fact, Vivek said the company will refund the course fees in case a student is unable to get a job within six months of completing a course. “If a skill you are acquiring is required in the market, jobs should not be difficult to come by,” he pointed out.
The company currently has over 130 people and plans to increase the headcount to about 200 over the next few quarters.
Springboard claims to have over 14,000 students, who have enrolled globally for its programmes.
According to KPMG, India's online education market is predicted to be valued at $1.96 billion by 2021. There are several other players in this sector including SimplyLearn, Udacity, UpGrad and Unacademy.
(Disclaimer: Additional background information has been added to this PTI copy for context)
(Edited by Megha Reddy)
