Course Hero, the leading online learning platform for crowdsourced study resources, announced today that it has closed $15 million in Series A financing. The investment was led by GSV Capital Corp. (NASDAQ: GSVC) and IDG Capital, with existing investors SV Angel and Maveron also participating. The new funding will be used to accelerate the growth of the Course Hero team and expand the reach of the high-quality content, tools, and services Course Hero provides to help students achieve their academic goals.
'We've seen the extraordinary power of peer-to-peer marketplaces in transportation, lodging, and financial services. Course Hero has the potential to be the peer-to-peer marketplace in education by enabling millions of students worldwide to access the best crowdsourced learning tools and materials,' said Michael Moe, Chairman and CEO of GSV Capital. 'We have been extremely impressed by what the Course Hero team has built, and we are delighted to invest in a company that helps students learn better, faster, and more cost-effectively.'
Founded in 2006 by Cornell University student Andrew Grauer, Course Hero was built on the belief that access to knowledge enriches lives and increases future opportunities. Course Hero connects college and high school students with the best online content and expert tutors to create an environment where everyone can learn in a way that best fits their needs. By delivering supplemental resources in specific courses, Course Hero helps students to learn more effectively and succeed.
Since inception, Course Hero has grown to a community of more than 5 million users at universities and high schools worldwide. The Silicon Valley-based company provides educational resources in the form of homework help from expert tutors, customizable flashcards, and more than 7 million course-specific notes, study guides, and practice tests to help students study more efficiently, both inside and outside the classroom.
Course Hero strategically selected leading educational investors for their Series A round, joining GSV's robust portfolio of ed tech companies, including 2U, Coursera, Declara, Knewton, General Assembly, Parchment, Dreambox Learning, and EdSurge. Course Hero will be joining ed tech leaders Yuantiku and ChinaEdu in IDG's portfolio. Additional Course Hero investors include Innovation Endeavors, Valiant Capital, 137 Ventures, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Interplay Ventures, Keynote Systems founder Umang Gupta, 3Com co-founder Bill Krause, and StubHub founder Jeff Fluhr.
###
About Course Hero
Course Hero is a digital learning platform providing students with a suite of online educational resources, including crowdsourced study documents, expert tutors, and customizable flashcards. For students exploring new subjects, mastering key concepts-and everything in between-Course Hero offers essential tools to help them achieve their goals and succeed in their courses. To learn more, please visit coursehero.com.