Apply Board, a Canadian unicorn, has raised funds for international students and has secured C$375 million (US$300 million) in Series D investment, raising its valuation to C$4 billion (US$3.2 billion).
The extra cash will be utilised to fulfil the “pent-up demand of international students wanting to study abroad” through additional product offerings, destination destinations, and scaled-up support teams, according to the well-known aggregator for international student applications.
ApplyBoard, which was founded by Iranian brothers studying in Canada and has funded an eye-watering US$475 million, said its staffing footprint will grow to 1,000.
Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board sponsored the financing round through its Teachers’ Innovation Platform (TIP).
“Education has the potential to change lives and bring peace to the globe, and ApplyBoard is more devoted than ever to assisting the millions of students who aspire to study abroad by raising funds for international students,” said Martin Basiri, ApplyBoard’s co-founder and CEO.
“We are looking forward to what this additional investment will enable us to do in terms of assisting our students, partner universities, and recruiting partners, so that our sector can rebuild stronger in the post-COVID world.”
ApplyProof, a verification platform that allows stakeholders in the student journey (such as admissions staff and immigration authorities) to authenticate the validity of documents such as English test scores and letters of acceptance, is an example of product iteration.
Adventus.io, which has also secured US$8.5 million in series A investment and whose CEO Ryan Trainor presented the several business models during the webinar, shared a stage with him.
“At Ontario Teachers’, we have a basic conviction in high quality education,” said TIP Senior Managing Director Olivia Steedman.
“ApplyBoard’s technological platform makes connecting students and educational institutions easier, resulting in more educational possibilities throughout the world.”
The investment round included existing investors Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, BDC, Harmonic, Index Ventures, Garage Capital, and Blue Cloud Ventures.
We hope that this raise of funds for international students help them in studying abroad and they can make their future bright