Accelerating Its Vision To Enrich Learning Experiences, Course Hero Inc. Raises $380M Series C

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Dec. 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Course Hero Inc., a leading education platform offering a suite of learning resources and tools for learners, today announced it has raised $380M in Series C funding, now valuing the company at $3.6 billion. With these funds, the company plans to accelerate its goal of building a rich and dynamic learning ecosystem to meet the evolving range of study needs for today's learners. The Series C funding round was led by Wellington Management with participation from new investors Sequoia Capital Global Equities, OMERS Growth Equity and D1 Capital Partners, as well as existing investors including, GSV Ventures, NewView Capital, SuRo Capital, TPG and Valiant Peregrine Fund.

"The learning and teaching environment in which Course Hero operates has expanded and evolved significantly over the past 15 years. Learners' lives — and their learning needs — have since become more complex, more diverse, and more continuous," said Andrew Grauer, CEO and Co-Founder of Course Hero. "We are committed to supporting these rapidly changing learning and teaching needs by expanding into new verticals, tools and services. We are pleased to have the backing of such well-known and well-respected investors to continue building an ecosystem of mission- and values-aligned learning businesses."

"We believe online learning platforms will continue to play an essential role in supplementing the student learning and educator teaching experience in today's learning economy," said Aneesh Venkat, Partner at Sequoia Capital Global Equities. "With lifelong learning trending upward, we expect resources like Course Hero will continue to grow, moving beyond the traditional college student pursuing a credential. Course Hero is a truly unique player in this environment, not only for their values-led approach to partnering with and acquiring companies, but also in how they operate and collaborate with educators to support better learning practices."

Expanding Beyond Higher Education; Increases Total Addressable Market.
While the U.S. education market is estimated to grow to $2 trillion by 2025 and to $10 trillion internationally by 2030, it remains fragmented. The learning journey has shifted significantly with 37 percent of undergrads being older than 25 years of age, more than 24 percent are raising children or have other dependents, and roughly 64 percent work while enrolled in college. Furthermore, the number of students aged 25 to 34 is expected to increase by 21 percent by next year. 

The learning journey starts well before higher education and continues throughout the arc of one's career. There is a wide variety of ways to support both students and educators during each of these critical periods. Course Hero, Inc. plans to grow from 2 million to 50 million annual subscribers by 2030 and aims to accelerate support for those businesses that want to help anyone learn more deeply, more effectively and affordably.

Creating a Platform Business Model to Address the Whole Learning Journey
The new investment will fund the company's plans to expand on its rich and dynamic learning ecosystem to meet the wide range of learning and teaching needs of today's global community of learners and educators. It will also fund the company's expansion to new verticals including adding support for more subject areas, grade levels and countries.

Founded in 2006, Course Hero is the company's first business. Today, Course Hero Inc. has expanded its portfolio of companies over the past year through a series of acquisitions. Course Hero Inc. now includes:

• Course Hero, the online learning platform used by a global community of millions of students and over 80,000 educators to contribute and access educational resources.
• CliffsNotes, the creator of iconic study guides that have been trusted by high school and college students for more than 60 years.
• LitCharts, the creator of literature resources used by more than 50 million students and teachers to develop and support a better understanding of literary texts.
• QuillBot, a pioneering AI-powered writing platform used by 12 million people every month to check for grammar, make citations, and improve their writing skills.
• Symbolab, the creator of an AI-based mathematics solver used by hundreds of millions of students worldwide to solve any math problem.

For more information, visit www.coursehero.com.

About Course Hero Inc.: Course Hero Inc. is a leading education platform, offering a suite of learning resources and tools to help anyone learn more deeply, more effectively, and affordably throughout the arc of their career. The Course Hero, Inc. portfolio includes Course Hero, an online learning platform of academic resources; CliffsNotes, the original and iconic study guide company; LitCharts, a creator of literature resources; QuillBot, an AI-powered platform helping people improve their writing skills, and Symbolab, a pioneering developer of AI for Mathematics Education.

Headquartered in Redwood City, CA, the company is a virtual-first organization with office hubs throughout the U.S., Canada, Israel and India.

SOURCE Course Hero