Esme Learning Solutions, a provider of online professional development, has raised a further £11.3 million in new funding to support its rapid global expansion.
Previous investors Adit Ventures are committing a further $10m with EdTech solution providers ThriveDX making a strategic investment of $5m.
The new investment will help Esme expand its existing portfolio of courses with partners such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge, and Imperial College Business School.
The funding round follows Esme Learning Solutions’ acquisition of AI collaboration platform Riff Analytics earlier this year.
Interest in skills-based, online credentials, strongly tied to career progression has seen rapid growth, evidenced by Esme Learning Solutions’ growing portfolio of courses with top tier universities. These include the renowned Oxford Digital Finance Executive series, anchored by Oxford Fintech Programme & Oxford Blockchain Strategy Programme from Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, classes in entrepreneurship and RegTech from Cambridge Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge and a family of classes on digital innovation from MIT such as AI Leadership.
The company has also recently launched a new offering with Imperial College Business School around artificial intelligence startups. The company serves over 1,500 organisations in more than 95 countries.
The new round of funding will support an expanding marketing footprint, accelerating product innovation, and enhancing research & development on new formats of courses to meet the demands of the time-poor executives as well as new modes of learning to build better learner outcomes.
“This new investment will enable Esme Learning Solutions to continue to drive innovation and growth in the online executive education market, enhance the student experience and ensure that we meet the challenges and opportunities of this sector over the coming years,” said CEO David Shrier.
“We are grateful for the continued support of Adit Ventures and welcome the strategic opportunities and value that ThriveDX will bring as we scale.”
Michael Block, MD of Adit Ventures, added: “We’ve been delighted to see the progress Esme Learning Solutions has made since our initial investment last year and believe that additional investment at this point will help supercharge growth and returns for our investors.
“The EdTech sector is rich with opportunity and we look forward to seeing what David, Beth Porter, co-founder and COO and the Esme team can create over the next few years.”