Pluralsight, a Salt Lake City-based online training platform for technology professionals, has raised a $135 million Series B led by Insight Venture Partners with participation of ICONIQ Capital and Sorenson Capital.
The round brings Pluralsight’s valuation close to $1 billion reports TechCrunch. Pluralsight previously raised a $27.5 million Series A in January 2013 from Insight Venture Partners.
Key Takeaway
Founded in 2004 by Keith Sparkjoy, Aaron Skonnard and Fritz Onion, Pluralsight became one of the trusted online course providers for tech and creative professionals. According to WSJ, the company’s revenue grew from $16 million in 2012 to $38 million in 2013 and will surpass $85 million this year.
With the fresh round of funding, Pluralsight now aims to grow its footprint in the corporate space as well as developing new courses, related interactive content and certifications.
“We have this vision of Pluralsight becoming the de facto training module in corporate groups. We see Pluralsight emerging as its own certification standard.”
Aaron Skonnard, co-founder and CEO of Pluralsight told TechCrunch.
Companies pay $300 per year per seat to the e-learning startup, individual learners pay $29 per month to get access to the entire course library. The customer base spreads across 150 countries with most users coming from the U.S., U.K. and India.
Analysis
Similar to lynda.com, Pluralsight grew organically over a long period before raising its first outside investment last year. Pluralsight then acquired four smaller competitors in eight months, boosting its content library to over 3000 courses.
Skilled workers to fill the programming and creative jobs are in high demand. Therefore, we are currently experiencing a massive spike in funding and activity among startups and established companies alike that cater the space through their respective e-learning portals.
Udemy is currently preparing for its European entrance by opening an office in Dublin and has also hired three seasoned executives to focus on scale and international growth.
Skillsoft, another Dublin-based established player in the field of e-learning for tech professionals, got acquired for $2 billion back in March.
lynda.com is also acquiring smaller competitors in the space to beef up its course library and has hired a Chief Revenue Officer to prepare the company for an IPO. Given this massive Series B round, Pluralsight now also is a candidate to join the stock market.
Further Reading
- Pluralsight Raises $135 Million in Series B Funding Led by Insight Venture Partners | Businesswire
- $135M in Series B funding: What it means for you | Pluralsight blog
- E-learning Co. Pluralsight Raises $135M in Record Round for Utah | Wall Street Journal
- Pluralsight Raises $135 Million At A Valuation Approaching $1 Billion | TechCrunch
Related Links
- HEDLINE: Pluralsight acquires Digital-Tutors for $45 million
- Udemy hires Seasoned Execs - Focus on Scale and Growth
- Udemy to open first Overseas Office in Dublin
- lynda.com hires former Ancestry.com and EF Englishtown executive Andrew Wait as CRO
- HEDLINE: Skillsoft acquired by Charterhouse for $2 billion
