Singapore edtech startup wins Carousell co-founder as investor in $1.5m seed round

Digital learning platform Skills Union has raised US$1.5 million in a seed round led by Australia’s Online Education Services, which is part of the Seek group of companies.

KDV Capital, Hustle Fund, Altara Ventures chairman Koh Boon Hwee, Carousell co-founder and CEO Siu Rui Quek, UL Ventures chief strategy and development officer Simin Zhou, MassMutual Ventures managing director Anvesh Ramineni, and a couple of individual investors participated in the round.

Photo credit: Skills Union

Skills Union was co-founded in 2020 by former Red Academy CEO Colin Mansell, Freely co-founder Aaron Magnus, and former Kahoot! general manager Tim Moore. The edtech platform offers university-accredited courses on subjects like software development, user experience design, and growth marketing, targeting both consumer and business audiences. It also promises to supply job-ready graduates to tech companies that need a digitally equipped workforce.

“This investment gives us the lift-off we want to further scale our programs and impact the lives of many more students,” said Mansell.

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Skills Union, which has partnered with institutions including Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University and London’s Ravensbourne University, is vying to make a mark in the online education sector which is expected to reach US$660 billion by 2027. Asia Pacific currently accounts for one-third of the global online education market.