As the cost of in-class education continues to rise, and the cost for computing continues to fall, we’re seeing a flourishing of startups that target the market for online learning. As one mark of the trend, one of the leaders in this space, Coursera, is today announcing $64 million in a Series D round of funding.
Coursera’s CEO Rick Levin (who notably joined the company after a period as president of one of the more prestigious institutions of the old educational guard, Yale University) told me that the company plans to use the funding to accelerate its business in three areas: to develop new technology in areas like artificial intelligence to improve and personalize the learning experience; to expand its range of full online degrees (versus short courses and one-off classes); and to continue building out one of its newer areas, targeting nonprofits and businesses and their own corporate development and training needs.
