Udemy raises $32 million to broaden content, expand international presence and develop new product innovations

SAN FRANCISCO, May 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Udemy, the leading global marketplace for learning and teaching online, today announced the completion of a $32 million Series C financing round led by Norwest Venture Partners (NVP), with additional support from existing investors Insight Venture Partners and MHS Capital. This latest round brings Udemy's total financing to date to $48 million. The company, which has grown its revenue 300 percent over the past 12 months, plans to use the new capital to broaden and deepen its content library, expand its international presence and enhance product offerings.

Home to more than 3 million students, Udemy is a global marketplace for learning and teaching online. Students choose what they learn and how they're taught, helping them acquire the skills they need to survive and even thrive in an economy changing more quickly than ever. Instructors anywhere can make a lasting impact and even monetize their expertise by sharing their knowledge with the people who need it. Since Udemy's launch in 2010, the company has seen tremendous growth. Specifically:

• Revenue has increased by over 300 percent in the past 12 months
• 1,000 new courses are created each month in ten languages, with 16,000 courses available in total
• More than 8,000 experts from around the world have created courses on Udemy
• The average instructor earns $7,000 on Udemy
• The number of students has grown more than 50 percent since January 2014 to more than 3 million students representing more than 190 countries
• Over 30% of Udemy students consume courses via iPhone, iPad and Android mobile devices

"Many people simply do not have the skills needed to remain relevant in today's workforce and, until now, have lacked the means to learn new skills in an affordable and accessible way," said Dennis Yang, CEO of Udemy. "Udemy taps into the knowledge of experts everywhere to close the skills gap. Now, individuals everywhere can connect with the skills they need anytime to keep pace in a global economy. This funding will enable us to dramatically scale how knowledge is shared and consumed around the world."

In addition to its online learning marketplace for individuals, Udemy offers solutions for corporate learning. In 2013, Udemy launched Udemy for Organizations to help corporations manage, develop and grow their teams. Its corporate customers include 1-800-Flowers, Oracle and Pitney Bowes.

"Udemy is the future of learning. In today's economic climate, we can't afford to stop learning when we leave school," said NVP partner and Udemy board member, Sergio Monsalve. "Udemy offers courses on virtually every topic, helping individuals maintain and update the skillsets they need to keep pace in today's ever-changing world. Udemy puts students in control of their own destinies, giving them access to the skills they need in an affordable, convenient way."

Udemy will also use funds to enhance its course creation and teaching platform, including enhanced tools to help instructors engage more deeply with current and future students. New teaching features include more robust instructor analytics for existing instructors and tools to further ease the course creation experience for experts around the world.

The company previously raised $12 million in November 2012, $3 million in October 2011 and $1 million in August 2010.

About Udemy

Udemy is the leading marketplace for online learning, democratizing education by making top-quality content from the world's experts available to anyone, anywhere. Offering more than 16,000 courses on a wide range of topics, Udemy allows experts worldwide to easily create and deliver consumer-grade online learning experiences where students can learn on demand at their own pace. Founded in 2010, privately-owned Udemy is funded by Norwest Venture Partners, Insight Venture Partners, Lightbank, MHS Capital and 500 Startups, among others. Udemy is headquartered in San Francisco. Web:  www.udemy.com | Twitter: @udemy | Facebook: www.facebook.com/udemy.

About Norwest Venture Partners

Norwest Venture Partners (NVP) is a global, multi-stage venture and growth equity investment firm that has partnered with entrepreneurs to build great businesses for more than 50 years. The firm manages approximately $3.7 billion in capital and has funded more than 550 companies since inception. Headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., NVP has subsidiaries in Mumbai and Bengaluru, India, and Herzelia, Israel. NVP makes early to late-stage venture and growth equity investments across a wide range of sectors including: technology, information services, business services, financial services, consumer products/services and healthcare. For more information visit: www.nvp.com. Follow NVP on Twitter: @NorwestVP. For more information on NVP's investment in Udemy, visit: http://www.nvp-blog.com/.

SOURCE Udemy