Ed-tech startup Simplilearn secures $15M in Series C funding led by Mayfield

Bangalore-based Simplilearn Solutions Pvt Ltd, the company behind Simplilearn.com, an online education and training destination for professional certification courses, has secured $15 million (Rs 92 crore) in Series C round of funding led by early-stage investor Mayfield, with participation from existing investors Kalaari Capital and Helion Venture Partners.

This takes the total funding raised so far by the ed-tech startup to $27 million.

"With more of our learners moving to mobile and online learning, the current funding will allow us to continue to invest in the platform, expand our course coverage, and also look at rapidly expanding in the US and other primary markets," Krishna Kumar, CEO of Simplilearn, said.

Simplilearn offers courses both online and in classroom workshops. The company claims that since its inception in 2010, it has certified more than 400,000 people globally.

"Simplilearn has had an impressive growth over the last few years, and we are confident that this momentum will continue as more individuals seek professional certification(s) to succeed. We believe that the additional capital will allow Krishna and his team to grow even faster and outpace the market," Navin Chaddha, managing director of Mayfield, said.

The startup was founded by Kumar, a BE in electronics and communication from the National Institute of Technology, Karnataka. Prior to this setting up this venture, Kumar had worked with Infosys and TechUnified. Simplilearn is an online learning destination for young working professionals, who are looking at career enhancement through certification courses across industry verticals.

With study centres across the globe, Simplilearn offers certification courses in project management, Big Data and analytics, virtualisation and cloud, IT service management, Microsoft certification, quality management, and financial management, among others.

Simplilearn had secured around $10 million in a Series B round of funding in September 2013 from Helion Venture Partners and existing investor Kalaari Capital. Previously, it had bagged around $2 million in Series A funding from Kalaari Capital (erstwhile IndoUS Venture Partners) in August 2012.

Other players in the online education vertical include Info Edge-backed Meritnation.com, Pearson's education fund-backed Zaya Labs and angels-backed Flipclass.com.

(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)