GlobeNewswire

SoftBank, Salesforce, AirTree back six-year-old learning and development platform experiencing 100 percent YoY growth

SAN FRANCISCO, July 19, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Go1, one of the world’s largest corporate education content hub for on-demand training and resources, announced today a $200M Series D round that has the company valued at more than USD $1B. The company plans to use this new investment to continue and create new partnerships, expand product offerings, and grow its physical presence globally to support the more than 3.5 million learners at more than 1,600 customer organizations worldwide.

This Series D funding round was led by new investor SoftBank Vision Fund 2*, as well as AirTree Ventures and Salesforce Ventures, with additional investors Blue Cloud Ventures, Larsen Ventures, Scott Shleifer and John Curtius from Tiger Global, and TEN13.

Previous investors also contributed to the round, including M12 – Microsoft’s venture fund – Madrona Venture Group, SEEK, and Y Combinator. To date, the company has raised more than USD $280M total inclusive of previous rounds.

“The support and funding that Go1 has received in its lifetime have been monumental to the company’s growth thus far,” said Andrew Barnes, Go1’s CEO. “However, this is just the beginning. Expanding in the US will allow Go1 to better engage, communicate and support customers and partners, especially as they consider a new hybrid work model. As society transitions out of the pandemic, ensuring that employees have opportunities to explore learning and development resources will be essential for team retention and encouraging employee growth within the organization.”

“This latest round of funding will enable our team to not only expand internally with new global offices and job opportunities, but enables us to be hyper-focused on growing our user base and advancing our product features for our customers,” Barnes said.

Go1 set out in 2015 to become a learning and professional development resource for organizations and a critical distribution partner for content providers. Its easy integration and breadth of content have led to widespread adoption on both sides - corporations that now have a single subscription for all workplace training needs, and corporate learning content creators whose insights can find their way to a larger audience.

“When people think about music, they often think of Spotify and access to unlimited music for one subscription. We believe Go1 is the emerging category leader in providing a similar experience for corporate learning. Powered by AI and machine learning, Go1’s platform provides an intuitive experience, and creates an opportunity for individuals to expand their professional development goals and explore the resources to help achieve them,” said Nagraj Kashyap, Managing Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers. “With premier education providers such as EdX, Coursera, Skillsoft, and Harvard as part of Go1’s subscription, organizations can curate learning content to fit the needs and interests of its workforce. We are delighted to partner with Andrew and the Go1 team help advance their vision of reaching one billion learners.”

With more than 70 percent of its new revenue generated from markets outside its home base in Australia, Go1 will focus on scaling up its team and partnerships with new platform content and resources. The company increased its user base more than 300 percent year-over-year, largely driven by rapid expansion into these markets and key government contracts with the Malaysian and Singaporean governments. Go1 foresees additional expansion opportunities in the United States and Europe through its growing integration with Microsoft Teams, Workday, SAP and more.

“Our team worked closely with Go1 on a Microsoft Teams integration to enable more enterprises to maintain corporate training remotely,” said Jeff Teper, Microsoft Corporate Vice President, Teams, OneDrive, SharePoint. “As many companies navigate in-person work scenarios, a plan for hybrid engagement is critical. Employees and students can access one of the world’s largest libraries of online learning resources with Go1 in Microsoft Teams. Companies can also onboard new talent and ensure essential trainings are provided regardless of employee location.”

“We have seen demand for online learning ramp up, including on Trailhead, as the pandemic drives consumers online and companies need people with the right skills to rapidly develop and deploy digital experiences for their customers,” said Rob Keith, Head of Australia, Salesforce Ventures. “Go1 is well positioned to support learners and companies to develop the skills needed for today’s digital economy, with international growth and product innovation increasing the breadth and depth of its offering.”

Go1’s content aggregation approach reimagines corporate education, enabling organizations to utilize learning, training and certification content from a variety of resources via its SaaS platform or by integrating into existing learning systems.

“We have been working closely with the Go1 team for a number of years and are thrilled with the progress to date,” said Andrew Bassat, SEEK co-founder. “Our continued investment reflects our ongoing commitment to help Go1 achieve its potential to help people to up-skill and re-skill themselves for work, which will be critical as the world recovers from the global pandemic.”

About Go1

Go1 makes it easy for organisations to learn, with the world's most comprehensive online library of learning resources. Go1 pulls the world’s top online learning providers into one place, delivering all the learning an organisation needs in a single solution. With over 3.5 million learners – and growing – Go1 is a world leader in online learning.

Go1.com has raised over US$280M in total funding from investors including AirTree Ventures, Blue Cloud Ventures, Larsen Ventures, Madrona Venture Group, M12, Our Innovation Fund, Oxford University, Salesforce Ventures, SEEK, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, TEN13, and Y Combinator. To learn more, visit www.go1.com.

Contact
Mike Dorsey for Go1
[email protected]

*As of the date of this press release, SoftBank Group Corp. has made capital contributions to allow investments by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 ("SVF 2") in certain portfolio companies. The information included herein is made for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy limited partnership interests in any fund, including SVF 2. SVF 2 has yet to have an external close, and any potential third-party investors shall receive additional information related to any SVF 2 investments prior to closing.

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