Udemy Raises $32M Series C to Grow 'Broader and Deeper'

Financing

Udemy Raises $32M Series C to Grow 'Broader and Deeper'

By Tony Wan     May 8, 2014

Udemy Raises $32M Series C to Grow 'Broader and Deeper'

Udemy, the developer of one of the most popular online marketplace for courses, has raised $32 million in a Series C round. Norwest Venture Partners led the deal, with existing investors Insight Venture Partners and MHS Capital also participating. The SF-based company has now raised $48 million.

Dennis Yang, Udemy’s new CEO, tells EdSurge the funds will be focused on driving product development and international expansion. (He was formerly the Chief Operating Officer and stepped into his current role just a few weeks ago.

“We want to grow broader and deeper,” says Yang. “We will continue to improve the student experience and help instructors make the best courses as seamlessly as possible.” Additional features to Udemy’s course creation platform will allow for more interactivity and feedback. Instructors will also get more granular data about how students are engaging with the video lectures--and where they’re dropping off.

Udemy also wants to grow abroad. Currently, it offers courses in 10 languages, with Spanish as the most popular language (after English). There is also considerable traction in Germany, Brazil and Japan, according to Yang. “We want to go after these markets strategically. We want to focus on locally-created content in native tongues, rather than export English-based courses to other languages.”

Udemy has over 3 million students from over 190 countries, in addition to 8,000 instructors who, on average, earn $7,000. The company also increased revenue “by over 300 percent in the past 12 months,” according to the press release.

Udemy is also slowly growing its enterprise customers. Launched in 2013, Udemy for Organizations currently has over 20 high-profile companies that use the platform for internal training and professional development.

The company currently has 55 employees. With the funding, it’s looking to add many more.

Learn more about EdSurge operations, ethics and policies here. Learn more about EdSurge supporters here.

More from EdSurge

Get our email newsletterSign me up
Keep up to date with our email newsletterSign me up