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Upskilling platform that acquired Adepto just raised $153M at $1.4B valuation

Degreed, a software company helping human resource departments is a B2B upskilling platform where individuals and organisations can discover content, build skills, and certify expertise.

Recently, the Californian company has raised $153 million (approx £111 million) in Series D funding at a valuation of $1.4 billion (approx £1.01 billion). This brings total funding raised by the company including, equity and debt to $183 million (approx £132 million). 

The investment was co-led by Sapphire Ventures and Riverwood Capital. Other investors, including Signal Peak Ventures, Owl Ventures, GSV Ventures, Founders Circle, Contour Investment Partners, Section Partners, and Alliance Bernstein, as well as new investor Firework Ventures, also participated in the round. 

The funding will be deployed to accelerate technology enhancement, product development, enhance data infrastructure, fuel global expansion, and pursue strategic acquisitions.

Appoints Dan Levin as new COO

As a part of the funding round, Dan Levin, former COO of Box, will succeed Chris McCarthy as CEO of Degreed. McCarthy will remain in a strategic advisory capacity and sit on Degreed’s Board of Directors. 

“I am delighted to join the Degreed team. Chris and the entire company have done an amazing job delivering a service that over one-third of Fortune 50 companies use every day to retain, reskill and develop their most valuable employees. The workforce of the future will need to build and activate new skills continuously, and we are uniquely positioned to help them do just that,” said Levin.

It’s worth noting that McCarthy is stepping down as CEO to address a chronic back issue. 

“When the Degreed Board and I put this transition plan in place last year, the goal was to be as successful as we were in 2017 when co-founder David Blake made me the CEO. After a months-long process, we’re thrilled to have someone of Dan’s caliber driving the next phase of our growth,” said McCarthy. “Dan’s extensive experience scaling high-growth companies aligns with our future trajectory. He’s not only a great operator but an exceptional leader and coach who is deeply connected to Degreed’s mission.”

He led the company through a period of significant growth with compound annual revenue growth of 76% and an 800% increase in enterprise value during his three and a half years as CEO.

Help employees develop their skills

Founded by David Wiley, Eric Sharp, Mike Adams, and David Blake in 2012, Degreed provides companies with a platform that enables employees to develop their skills and create skill profiles. 

The platform integrates and curates all the resources people use to learn including, learning management systems and millions of courses, videos, articles, books, and podcasts.

Active user base doubled

Last year, the company doubled its active user base and increased its team by 50%, to 600 employees, across six continents. 

It’s worth mentioning the UK is one of the major markets for the company with an office in London. In 2019, Degreed also acquired London-based Adepto, a “Total Talent” platform that displays the skill-sets of current, past, and potential employees.

The company also made some major investments in product extensions to support the upskilling initiatives of the enterprise customers.

“Research shows that today’s employees are eight times more likely to work for a company that they trust will provide them with career opportunities, even if their job changes or goes away. And businesses that can quickly reallocate talent to the most critical strategic priorities are more than twice as likely to outperform their competitors on total returns to shareholders. That’s exactly what Degreed does, and that’s why we’re excited to partner with Degreed and be part of the company’s future,” added Kevin Diestel, Partner at Sapphire Ventures.

Jeff Parks, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Riverwood Capital, said “Under Chris’ leadership, Degreed has transformed the learning experience and upskilling conversation. We are thrilled to build on that vision in partnership with Dan and this incredible team, and are focused on the next phase of their scalability journey and supporting their mission to equip people with the skills they need to redefine their careers, their companies, their fields, and the world.”

Degreed is headquartered in Pleasanton, California, with additional offices in Salt Lake City, New York, London, Amsterdam, and Brisbane.

The post Upskilling platform that acquired Adepto just raised $153M at $1.4B valuation appeared first on UKTN (UK Tech News).

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