Noodle, the country’s fastest-growing online learning network, announced it has raised $50 million in Series C funding. The round was led by funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, joined by several existing investors including Owl Ventures. Barclays acted as the exclusive placement agent.
The funds will allow Noodle to continue to activate hyper-growth for its university partners by investing in acquisitions and innovation that help them keep marketing and student support costs low, and enabling them to move beyond degree programs to compete in the lifelong learning market. Enrollments to date in Noodle-managed programs, which have been registering students, on average, for just 15 months, will produce $400M in lifetime revenue for university partners.
“We are excited to be leading this investment, driven by our belief that higher education is undergoing a significant digital transformation, and our confidence in Noodle’s proven team, impressive track record, and compelling mission,” said William Abecassis, Head of Innovation Capital, BlackRock.
This new round of funding follows several years of tremendous growth, in which Noodle has signed more degree programs with elite schools than any of its competitors combined (so far in 2021, Noodle has signed 66% of all degree partnerships with domestic top-200 universities).
In 2020, Noodle raised Series B funds totaling more than $30 million, led by San Francisco-based ValueAct Spring Fund, followed by the Lumina Foundation and existing investors. With all prior rounds, the company has now raised over $125 million of equity capital since its inception.
Also in 2020, Noodle acquired key assets of HotChalk, a leading online program manager (OPM), absorbing HotChalk’s portfolio of programs, the Creative Communications Associates (CCA) marketing agency, and their acclaimed marketing, enrollment, and technology teams.
“This Series C financing is a testament to the continued success and growth of the fee-for-service model pioneered by Noodle. Barclays is proud to lead this important transaction,” said Alex Pavlovich, Head of Education Technology, Barclays.
“Since its inception, Noodle has been transforming the online education market, first by offering a more attractive revenue model than traditional OPMs and, more recently, by launching a more compelling lifelong learning model for universities and students alike,” said John Katzman, Noodle CEO. “This fundraise will allow us to further this market disruption as we continue to seek new ways to empower universities to use technology to drive down costs, raise capacity and increase student/faculty engagement.”
Source: PR Newswire
