UDEMY: $3 million series A for SF-based Udemy, a learning platform that lets anyone take or build an online class. Investors include Lightbank, 500 Startups and MHS Capital. Brad Keywell, Paul Lee (Lightbank) and Gagan Biyani (Udemy cofounder) join the board, which includes Eren Baali (co-founder, CEO) and seed investor, Russ Fradin. Udemy currently supports 6,000 online classes; it has enabled instructors and partners to earn $500K over the past 10 months. Gagan says Amazon is an inspiration: much like Amazon is offering writers a chance to publish sans a classic book publisher, Udemy lets instructors offer online courses. Money (literally) quote: "There's no reason why there shouldn't be million-dollar [earning] teachers," Gagan says. Currently employs 15 people in both San Francisco and Ankara, Turkey.
