Online learning platform Coursera raises $103M, valuing the company at over $1B

E-learning sector is becoming increasingly popular and a viable alternative as it is cheap and convenient. Coursera, an online learning startup has raised $103 million in a Series E funding led by SEEK Group,online recruitment and course directory provider based in Australia, with participation from NEA(New Enterprise Associates) and Future Fund. The e-learning platform offers free and paid online courses, complete degrees, and skills certifications in collaboration with universities and businesses.

The fund raised will help the company to scale out its business into other areas andto introduce new courses in different subjects. It currently offers 3200 courses and over 300 specializations in partnership with educational institutions including the University of Michigan, Johns Hopkins, and Columbia University. The company notes that over 40 million users have enrolled for online courses using its platform, which is a significant increase from 2017 when the number of users was noted to be 26 million. Also, the company has experienced tremendous growth in its revenue; it is presently valued at more than $1 billion.

“Coursera’s aim is to steer a course that offers a range of learning alternatives as diverse as the mass market it’s hoping to continue targeting,” said CEO Jeff Maggioncalda who joined the company in 2017. “We long ago realized that having a range of learning options, from open, free courses to masters degrees and everything in between such as microcredentials, bachelor’s degrees, and certifications, is the way to go,”he further added.