International student recruitment platform ApplyBoard recently announced it has raised C$375 million (US$300 million) in Series D funding at a post-money valuation of C$4 billion (US$3.2 billion).
The round was led by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, through its Teachers’ Innovation Platform (TIP), which focuses on late-stage venture and growth equity investments in companies developing innovative technologies. Existing investors including Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, BDC, Harmonic, Index Ventures, Garage Capital, and Blue Cloud Ventures also participated in the round.
According to a statement, the new funding will help ApplyBoard to meet the pent-up demand for international students looking to pursue their dreams of studying abroad.
Issuing a statement on the new development, Martin Basiri, Co-founder and CEO, ApplyBoard, said,
“Education has the power to change lives and bring peace to the world, and ApplyBoard is more committed than ever to helping the millions of students around the world who are dreaming of studying abroad.
With limited international travel over the past year, we at ApplyBoard are already seeing pent-up demand from students looking to study abroad. We are excited for what this new investment into our mission will allow us to accomplish to help our students, partner institutions, and recruitment partners so that our industry can build back better in a post COVID world.”
The company plans to use the funds to develop new product offerings, expand to more study abroad destination countries, and grow its support teams.
Olivia Steedman, Senior Managing Director, Teachers’ Innovation Platform, said,
“At Ontario Teachers’, we have a fundamental belief in the value of a top quality education. ApplyBoard’s technology platform is simplifying the process of connecting students and educational institutions and creating greater opportunities for education globally.”
ApplyBoard is on a mission to educate the world by democratizing access to educational opportunities around the globe. It offers access to more than 100,000 programs at 1,500 top educational institutions across Canada, the US, UK, and Australia. The company has helped more than 200,000 students across more than 125 countries with their study abroad application journey and plans to support millions in the coming years.
ApplyBoard was founded in 2015 by three brothers – Martin, Meti, and Massi Basiri – who came from Iran to Canada for their education. After seeing and experiencing the challenges of the application process, they decided to start the company to make it easy for others. In six years, ApplyBoard has grown to be the market leader in the study abroad industry.
Besides expanding its service of access to international educational programs in the UK, Australia, and the US, ApplyBoard has also added new products and services over the past year, including ApplyProof, which enables stakeholders in the student journey, including admissions officers and immigration officials, to trust the authenticity of documents, such as English test scores, letters of acceptance, and more.
The latest round of funding comes on the heels of last year’s C$100 million Series C and C$70 million Series C extension funding. ApplyBoard has raised C$600 million (US$475 million) to date.