Tencent reportedly leads Udemy’s $50m series F round

Udemy has also informed its investors about a possible initial public offering in 2021, the sources added.

The online learning and teaching platform yesterday announced that it secured US$50 million in a series F round from “leading global edtech and growth funds” including Learn Capital and that it raised those funds at a pre-money valuation of over US$3.2 billion.

Though the report, citing a regulatory filing in Delaware, said that Udemy had been looking to raise US$100 million in funding.

The new capital will be used to grow Udemy’s consumer and business product offerings as Covid-19 accelerates the adoption of online learning. In its funding announcement, the company claims its platform saw a more than 425% increase in course enrollments and a 55% bump in course creation by instructors.

Tencent’s investment in Udemy would be the latest in a string of tech bets made by the Chinese internet giant over the last two months.

In October, it led the US$100 million series E2 round in Beijing-based online education platform Huohua Siwei and the US$100 million series B funding round in Chinese esports startup VSPN. Earlier this month, Tencent co-led the US$50 million series C round of UK-based digital health company Congenica as well.