Varsity Tutors Raises $50M in Series C Financing to Redefine Learning
Learn Capital, The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and TCV invest to expand the live learning platform across a wide range of learners, categories and geographies
ST. LOUIS, Feb. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Varsity Tutors, the company that is fundamentally changing how individuals acquire knowledge, announced today that it has closed a $50M Series C funding round, bringing its total funding to $107M. The round was led by Learn Capital, with participation from The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and existing investor TCV. The funds will enable Varsity Tutors to further its vision of seamlessly connecting experts and learners in any subject, anywhere, at any time.
Varsity Tutors connects students with 40,000 experts in more than 1,000 subjects and tests. The company plans to increase those numbers substantially as it targets new verticals outside of tutoring and new international markets. Varsity Tutors also intends to focus on new product innovation, including expansion of its Instant Tutoring product, which allows learners to seamlessly connect with live experts in as little as 15 seconds in nearly 150 subjects.
"It's a thrill and privilege to have this opportunity to support Varsity Tutors at this moment in the company's trajectory," said Rob Hutter, Managing Partner, Learn Capital. "It's our view here at Learn that global market forces are converging to create a new era of augmented learning where profoundly new rules and growth dynamics will take hold. In my opinion, Varsity is one of the best positioned companies on the planet to build a leadership franchise that quickly out-distances the crowd and transforms the possibility space of personalized instruction. None of this could occur, though, without a remarkable team and a cadence of execution that is rare."
"We are excited to invest in Varsity Tutors given their leadership and success to date, and their continued innovation to offer quality learning experiences to more students across different geographies, backgrounds and learning needs," said Vivian Wu, Managing Partner, Ventures, at The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. "We look forward to working with them to make students' learning even more effective and to increase access for more students."
To date, over 100,000 students have relied on online, mobile and in-person live instruction to meet their personal and professional goals. Learners have accessed more than three million hours of live instruction on the platform. Online, mobile and instant tutoring now account for the majority of Varsity Tutors' business with a product satisfaction rating of 4.9/5.0.
"For the first time in history, advances in technology have allowed us to create a platform that provides instant access to the expertise you need in real time. Learners using Varsity Tutors are now benefiting from a far better experience online than has ever been possible offline," said Chuck Cohn, founder and CEO of Varsity Tutors. "By building the leading platform that enables individuals to find personalized instruction in any subject, anywhere, anytime, we are redefining learning."
In 2017, Varsity Tutors acquired First Tutors, the largest tutoring marketplace in Europe. It has also acquired four educational content websites to introduce Varsity Tutors to millions of new users.
About Varsity Tutors
Varsity Tutors is a live learning platform that connects students and professionals with personalized instruction to achieve any goal. To date, students have accessed more than three million hours of live instruction on the platform. Experts are available to meet in person or through the company's award-winning online and mobile platforms, which account for the majority of all sessions. Varsity Tutors was founded in 2007 at Washington University in St. Louis. For more information, visit https://www.varsitytutors.com.
About Learn Capital
Learn Capital is a venture capital firm focused on breakthroughs in education technology. For nearly a decade, Learn has funded companies pursuing scalable learning platforms and cloud-powered instructional services for people of every age and background, on nearly every continent. Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, Learn Capital supports entrepreneurs and learning innovations globally. For more about the firm, visit http://learncapital.com.
About The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative was launched in December 2015 by Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, and Priscilla Chan, a pediatrician and founder and CEO of The Primary School in East Palo Alto. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is a new kind of philanthropy that seeks to engineer change at scale. By pairing world class engineering with grantmaking, impact investing, policy, and advocacy work, CZI hopes to build a future for everyone. Initial areas of focus include supporting science through basic biomedical research and education through personalized learning. CZI is also exploring ways to address barriers to justice and opportunity - from criminal justice reform, to expanded access to economic opportunity and affordable housing. For more information, visit https://chanzuckerberg.com.
About TCV
Founded in 1995, TCV provides capital to growth-stage private and public companies in the technology industry. TCV has invested over $10 billion in leading technology companies and has helped guide CEOs through more than 110 IPOs and strategic acquisitions. TCV's internet and software investments include Airbnb, Dollar Shave Club, Expedia, Facebook, Fandango, GoDaddy, HomeAway, Netflix, Rent the Runway, Spotify, Varsity Tutors and Zillow. TCV is headquartered in Palo Alto, California, with offices in New York and London. For more information about TCV, including a complete list of TCV investments, visit https://www.tcv.com.
CONTACT: Brittany Hendrickson, 415-299-6370, InkHouse, [email protected]
SOURCE Varsity Tutors
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