Corporate learning platform 360Learning raises $200 million in SoftBank co-led round

Paris-founded 360Learning has raised $200 million in a private equity round led by Sumeru, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, and Silver Lake Waterman. Existing investors Bpifrance Large Venture, XAnge, and Educapital also followed on. The collaborative corporate Edtech SaaS platform plans to use the sizeable investment to expand the team to over 500, with key hires targeting the innovation, engineering, and product departments, and further expand across North America, Asia, Europe, and South America, both organically and through M&A activities. To date, the company has raised approximately $242.6 million.

Founded in 2012, 360Learning takes the approach that corporate learning and development should start from the bottom and work its way to the top, not vice versa. In so much, the startup postulates that through this methodology, companies stand to shift their employees’ outlook to growth mindsets, all the while developing current and future skillsets.

With a strong emphasis on collaboration and engagement, the company reports that they receive an average 95% relevance score from participants. Translated, this means that students that are involved with courses are finding immediate and tangible benefits to what they’re learning. For employers, this means that learning and development teams need not sift through and update thousands of courses to find out which are up to date and aren’t but are effectively crowdsourcing/collaborating with learners directly.

Taking the refinement one step further, the startup is relying on AI to analyse data sets that are created during learning sessions and helping clients identify what’s working well, what’s not, and what gaps are missing from an overall development plan.

The company engages with over 1,500 customers including LVMH, Aircall, Toyota, and Appen, helping them increase new hire time-to-productivity, and ultimately increase sales figures.

“By focusing on collaborative learning and combining it with AI and data, we’re radically changing how people learn in the workplace. Our engagement figures show that with the right learning approach and technology, L&D becomes a driver of growth,” explains CEO Nick Hernandez. “Learners take control of their own learning and their companies thrive and lead in the new hybrid work environment. We’re delighted to welcome a brilliant new set of investors from three different continents to help us spearhead a transformative breakthrough in the learning market.”