Degreed raises $42million in series C funding
Degreed, global platform for discovery, learning & certification of skills, announced this week the appointment of new CEO, Chris McCarthy, and a round of funding of $42 Million, co-led by Owl Ventures and Jump Capital. Co-Founder, David Blake will take over as Degreed Executive Chairman.
The funding will fuel commercialization of Degreed’s newest product, Skill Certification, It’s kind of system to both certify and rate any skill. Kat Kennedy, Chief Product Officer, Degreed shared the excitement of this new phase of growth for the organization. Kennedy said, “Helping individuals recognize the skills that they have, regardless of how they got them, is what keeps us going.” She adds “It is critical we empower individuals with their own development,” further she adds “While people may not have gone to the university, they have lots of skills that could be deployed. Upskilling, certifying and empowering individuals can bring progress to individuals, organizations, and societies at large.”
As per Degreed press release, in the last six months alone the company has added nearly 50 new clients, representing 1 million licensed users and tens of millions of dollars of contract value. These include Unilever, Cisco, Kia Motors, Marsh & McLennan, Schlumberger, Booz Allen Hamilton, Athena Health, The Bank of Montreal, Prudential Financial, and Hyatt Hotels.
Talking to People Matters in her recent visit to India, Kennedy said, “We are going to use that fund in technology because we see a market primed for it and we will invest more in skills certification.”
Sarice Plate, Xilinx Senior Director of Global Talent Acquisition and Development, said, “Degreed is further optimizing the way that we address current skills and development needs in the short term, and how that will translate to performance as part of our longer-term strategy. Our learners are no longer having to guess at what's quality or what might benefit them,” as mentioned in the release.