Online learning company lynda.com has raised a $186 million Series B led by private equity firm TPG and with participation from existing investors Accel Partners, Spectrum Equity and Meritech. David Trujillo of TPG will join the board of directors.
The round comes two years after a $103 million Series A, bringing lynda.com’s total funding raised to $289 million.
People familiar with the deal told Bloomberg that lynda.com’s valuation was now close to $1 billion. The platform currently offers 5,700 courses and 255,000 video tutorial, generating $150 million in revenue in 2014 with 55% coming from individual subscribers who pay $25 per month to access the course library.
The funding will be primarily used to acquire a number of smaller edtech companies in the field. lynda.com CEO Eric Robin told VentureBeat that the company is in the final stage of due dilligence with one and has letters of intent with three edtech companies. The acquisitions will help lynda.com to further develop its technology and further broaden the selection of content.
The company also plans to add up to 250 employees to its current staff of 550 employees.
Pluralsight, one of lynda.com’s main competitors, had revenue of around $85 million in 2014 and has acquired five edtech startups over the course of 15 months. The latest being Smarterer, a skill test platform that was the first acquisition outside of the content space for Pluralsight.
With alternative credentials becoming more and more accepted by employers, it would make sense for lynda.com to acquire a similar startup in the space.
Further Reading
- lynda.com Receives $186 Million Investment Led by TPG | Market Wired
- Lynda.com Raises $186 Million in Funding Led by TPG Capital | Bloomberg
- Online education company Lynda.com grabs $186M in new funding, eyes acquisitions | VentureBeat