Portfolio News| December 2018
DataCamp Receives Growth Investment from Spectrum Equity
New York, NY — Businesses can more easily increase the data fluency of their employees thanks to a funding announced today by DataCamp, the industry’s most engaging data science and analytics learning platform. Spectrum Equity, a leading growth equity firm focused on the information economy, led the investment and was joined by existing investors Accomplice and Arthur Ventures.
The investment will enable DataCamp to greatly expand its data science and analytics curriculum to reach not just advanced users but all who seek to increase their data fluency. The company will continue to invest in product innovation to personalize the learning experience and will expand DataCamp for Business, which tailors DataCamp’s innovative learn-by-doing approach to each company’s needs. Managers can set learning assignments, create custom learning tracks, and monitor team progress on a dedicated dashboard, raising data skills and knowledge across the company.
DataCamp works with industry-leading companies and their users across almost every business function. DataCamp’s customers include Uber, Facebook, HSBC, Telefonica, and Kaiser Permanente. "Nielsen is using Datacamp to up-skill our associates in data science and analytics,” said Nielsen Data Science Global Training Leader Francesca Farinati. “The breadth and quality of the curriculum, the hands-on approach to learning that pairs short videos that explain one concept at a time with in-browser coding exercises, as well as the depth of the resources available through the DataCamp Community, all combine to address the broader need for data fluency across our organization.”
This distinctive interactive learning approach, the quality of the curriculum created by a network of 160 expert instructors, and the depth of resources available to the user community combine to distinguish the DataCamp platform. Today, DataCamp has over 3.3 million users in more than 180 countries, and serves over 1,000 business customers. DataCamp’s course-completion rates, which exceed 60%, set the company apart from its online education peers, many of which boast completion rates of 10% to 15%. Unlike coding boot camps, DataCamp serves as an ongoing resource and community for its users, who often spend hundreds of hours per year improving their data skills.
“Our team is thrilled that the effort we’ve put into working with the best instructors — and compensating them for co-creating interactive, hands-on courses that enrich millions of users — will now benefit so many more users and companies,” said DataCamp CEO Jonathan Cornelissen. “We were drawn to Spectrum Equity’s track record of scaling online learning platforms and internet companies such as Lynda.com, Teachers Pay Teachers, SurveyMonkey and GoodRx. Spectrum Equity’s investment will enable us to expand our educational reach, and accelerate productivity, innovation and decision-making around the world.”
“Our thesis supporting this investment is simple: the demand for increased data fluency is universal as enterprises attempt to compete more effectively in a world that is fundamentally more data driven — regardless of company size or industry segment,” said Spectrum Equity Managing Director Steve LeSieur. “The platform that DataCamp CEO Jonathan Cornelissen, his co-founders and the rest of the team have built is best positioned to address this exploding demand with a distinctive and rapidly evolving product platform and a highly engaged global community. We are thrilled to be supporting DataCamp in the next phase of growth.”
About DataCamp
DataCamp helps companies answer their most challenging questions by making better use of data. Our users build and maintain data fluency on the world’s most advanced data science and analytics learning platform. Because modern occupations require lifelong education, users learn continuously from the world’s top data science instructors. And they learn by doing — applying each lesson immediately, and responding to instant feedback. DataCamp enables managers to strategically embed data fluency across an organization, regardless of size or structure. We’ve already educated more than 3.3 million people around the world at more than 1,000 companies such as Uber and REI — and we’re just getting started. Close the talent gap. Visit datacamp.com.
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