Lightspeed, Citi Ventures join $25m round of Australian edtech startup

Australian edtech firm Forage said it has raised US$25 million in series B funding in a round led by Blackbird Ventures, a VC fund based in Australia and New Zealand.

Telstra Ventures, Citi Ventures, Gaingels, Cap Table Coalition, and JFF’s Employment Technology Fund, as well as existing investors Lightspeed Venture Partners and FundersClub, also participated in the raise.

Forage co-founders Pasha Rayan (left) and Thomas Brunskil / Photo credit: Forage

Founded in 2017, Forage partners with employers worldwide to create open-access online training courses for college students, which it calls “Virtual Experience Programs.” These classes are made to emulate the real work that employees carry out, giving aspiring graduates relevant experience.

The company said its programs create effective hiring funnels for its enterprise partners, claiming that students on its platform are 4x more likely to be offered a role than competitors.

The new funding will allow Forage to invest in its core product as well as focus on expanding its curriculum of programs.

The startup currently offers 100 programs from employers such as General Electric, SAP, JPMorgan, Electronic Arts, Aon, PwC, and HSBC. It also works with over 350 universities such as UCLA, the University of Westminster, and the National University of Singapore to embed its offerings in coursework and their career centers.

“By positioning itself as the glue between the futures of education and work, Forage is defining a completely new and exciting market category,” said Blackbird Ventures’ Tom Humphrey, who will be joining Forage’s board as part of the investment.