Due to the rise of new technologies, learning is now much easier and more fun. Investors have realised that e-learning presents an opportunity for their portfolios and have been very active in this sector, especially in the last 3 years.
Funding rounds
The e-learning sector has attracted the attention of the investors in 2013, being the protagonist of several rounds. Most of these rounds have been first rounds and seed rounds, but we can also find some examples of large financing rounds.
One of the seed capital companies that has received funding is Qranio. Qranio, a Brazilian company that offers online games for users to learn by playing. Founded in January 2013, it received in the same month $75k from Wayra, $350k from Wayra, $350k from Wayra and $350k from Wayra. business Angel Gui Affonso and $150k of Samir Iásbeck de Oliveira.
Sympozthe interactive online learning platform using the Time Index technique, last December 2013 received a $35M round led by Adams Street Partners.
"This American company, founded in 2010, had already received 2 financing rounds more, the first of them by $6M, in 2011 led by Harrison Metal and Foundry Group , y the second of $15M, which involved Harrison Metal, Foundry Group and Tiger Global Management"comments Diego Guiterrez, alternative finance expert of the group. Abra- Invest.
In 2013, a number of acquisitions were made in the sector, such as the purchase from LearnSomething by Xerox, that of TrainSignal, PeepCode and lTekpub by PluralSight .
American Xenox, the world's largest supplier of toner copiers and their accessories, made several acquisitions in 2013, entering new technology-related markets. The latest of these purchases was LearnSomething, an e-learning platform offering multimedia solutions for health care. This company had received in 2006 a financing round of $2M, led by Noro-Moseley Partners.
Pluralsight, which offers online training courses and has more than 200,000 users in over 100 countries, made 3 acquisitions in 2013. The first acquisition in July was PeepCode, a company that offers video tutorials for expert web designers and developers. One month later, bought by $23.6M TrainSignal, a company dedicated to the production and marketing of video tutorials on topics such as Microsoft, Cisco, CompTIA and VMware. In November it bought lTekpub, a company also dedicated to training in the world of technology.
"Pluralsight's strategy of growth through acquisitions has allowed it to grow rapidly by broadening its portfolio of target sectors and expanding internationally," says Diego Guiterrez.
Activity in Spain
Edukame.com platform to contribute to the educational process of children aged 0 to 6 years, received a financing round 100,000 in December 2012, to complete the team with marketing, content management and logistics profiles, as well as to execute user acquisition strategies through SEM, affiliate marketing and email marketing.
In this financing round Both private and public investors participated, thanks to a loan granted by Enisa. Among the Business Angels was Antonio Bernal, CEO of Memento, who not only contributed capital, but also provided the startup with know-how derived from his experience in other projects in the children's sector, as well as potential contacts to take advantage of synergies between his other companies.
Recently EAmida, the most complete Spanish company for e-learning training in the market, aimed at any type of training organisation or company that provides training to its employees or clients, has signed an agreement with the American company V3Biz to internationalise its market offer in the development of software applications specialised in online training.
Other posts that may interest you
Top 10 Biggest Funding Rounds in the Education ICT Sector
Venture capital drives language learning apps
Spanish venture capital invests in educational ICTs
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