ApplyBoard is thrilled to announce that we have raised C$375M (US$300M) in Series D funding at a post-money valuation of C$4B (US$3.2B)! The round was led by Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, through its Teachers’ Innovation Platform (TIP). TIP focuses on late-stage venture and growth equity investments in companies developing innovative technologies. Existing investors Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, BDC, Harmonic, Index Ventures, Garage Capital, and Blue Cloud Ventures also participated in the round.
Martin’s Announcement Video
Our Impact
This latest round of funding comes on the heels of last year’s C$100M Series C and C$70M Series C extension funding. It will help ApplyBoard meet the pent-up demand for international students looking to pursue their dreams of studying abroad. ApplyBoard plans to use these funds to further break down the barriers to international education by:
- Developing dynamic and innovative new product offerings
- Expanding to even more study abroad destination countries
- Growing our support teams at scale
Build Back Better
“Education has the power to change lives and bring peace to the world, and ApplyBoard is more committed than ever to helping the millions of students around the world who are dreaming of studying abroad,” said Martin Basiri, Co-founder and CEO, ApplyBoard.
“With limited international travel over the past year, we at ApplyBoard are already seeing pent-up demand from students looking to study abroad. We are excited for what this new investment into our mission will allow us to accomplish to help our students, partner institutions, and recruitment partners, so that our industry can build back better in a post-COVID world.”
For the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board and its Teachers’ Innovation Platform, the investment in ApplyBoard was a natural.
“At Ontario Teachers’, we have a fundamental belief in the value of a top quality education,” explained Olivia Steedman, Senior Managing Director, TIP. “ApplyBoard’s technology platform is simplifying the process of connecting students and educational institutions and creating greater opportunities for education globally.”
Education Is a Right, Not a Privilege
Built upon the fundamental belief that education is a right and not a privilege, ApplyBoard is on a mission to educate the world by democratizing access to educational opportunities around the globe. The company has grown in six years to be the market leader in the study abroad industry, helping more than 200,000 students across more than 125 countries with their study abroad application journey, and plan to support millions in the coming years. ApplyBoard offers access to more than 100,000 programs at 1,500 top educational institutions across Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia.
ApplyBoard was founded in 2015 by brothers Martin, Meti, and Massi Basiri. They were international students who came from Iran to Canada for their education and after seeing and experiencing the challenges of the application process they decided to start ApplyBoard to make it easy for others. Since its founding, ApplyBoard has raised C$600M (US$475M).
Rapid Growth
ApplyBoard’s rapid growth continued this past year, expanding to offer access to international educational programs in the UK, Australia, and the US and doubling the number of global team members to more than 1,000. ApplyBoard has also added new products and services over the past year, including ApplyProof, which enables stakeholders in the student journey (including admissions officers and immigration officials) to trust the authenticity of documents, such as English test scores, letters of acceptance, and more.
In 2020, ApplyBoard was named one of the fast-growing technology companies in Canada and North American on Deloitte’s influential Technology Fast 50™ and Technology Fast 500™ lists, placing #2 and #14, respectively. Last year, ApplyBoard also ranked #3 on LinkedIn’s 2020 Top Startups list in Canada.
