Online courses are getting more and more popular nowadays, as a lot of people are becoming fans of self education. Between these companies, there are a few which stand out, like Udacity, which recently received a cash infusion that raised its total value at $1 billion.
According to USA Today, the company founded by Sebastian Thurn, David Stavens and Mike Sokolsky is back on the market, after being suspended due to a failed partnership with San Jose State University. Apparently, many students who were using Udacity‘s course to study failed to pass finals, but they’re back better than ever.
Multiple investors saw the potential of this industry
The company’s investor list got bigger, after German-based media company Bertelsmann, alongside Scotland’s Baillie Gifford, Emerson Collective and Google Ventures spent $105 million on a Series D financing.
The same source mentions that this amount represents two-third of a total of $163 million raised until now, helping the company to achieve a value of $1 billion and joining a select club.
“This is a validation for our model, one which has a jobs-oriented approach that works back from the needs of companies toward our students. This money will help us grow internationally and expand our course offerings,” says Udacity COO Vish Makhijani.
Up to 50 classes to be available by the end of 2016
Currently, the company has 11,000 students and 1000 graduates, waiting for their so-called ‘nanodegrees’. The company is offering a number of nine classes, focused on tech and covering topics as coding or data analysis. Also, but the end of 2016, Udacity plans to expand the list, offering up to 50 classes, all of them focused on technology.
“We could one day push on beyond that, but for now this works well for us, if simply because those interested in tech tend to be more open to different learning formats,” added Vish Makhijani.
