Corporate learning and training catalogue OpenSesame raised $50 million that will be used to build more partnerships with content creators and bolster the company’s artificial intelligence curation.
The investment comes from growth equity firm JMI Equity and includes existing investors FTV Capital and Altos Ventures. The company has raised a total of $107.4 million from investors.
OpenSesame has an online catalogue of more than 20,000 training courses from hundreds of publishers. Customers use OpenSesame to find curated courses that integrate with a company's corporate learning management systems and learning and development programs. Customers include manufacturers, service providers, technology companies and local governments.
“OpenSesame has seen unprecedented growth over the past few years, driven by the demand for people-first online learning,” said CEO Don Spear in a written statement. “Not only are we serving new customers through innovative virtual technologies, but we are also expanding our reach with current customers by serving many new and multi-language courses. As we considered accelerating our growth, it became clear that we should add another proven financial partner to help us optimize our business for further success.”
JMI has been around for 30 years and focuses on software investing. The firm has backed more than 155 businesses and raised more than $6 billion. As part of the deal, Peter Arrowsmith, managing partner at JMI will join the OpenSesame board.
With a high percentage of corporate employees working remotely as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, OpenSesame has seen increased demand from customers for new ways to run corporate training and professional development.
“Covid-19, the increased need for learning resources around important (diversity, equity, inclusion)-related topics, and a growing commitment by global organizations to invest in continuous learning have all accelerated demand for OpenSesame’s technology, curation expertise, and content marketplace,” said JMI Principal Sureel Sheth in a written statement.
OpenSesame has 175 employees and is hiring across the board as a result of this investment. Open roles include accounting, IT, engineering and marketing. The company last raised money in 2019.
OpenSesame’s round is the latest infusion for a Portland-area company in what is shaping up to be another big year for investment in the region. Not counting OpenSesame’s round, the Portland-metro has seen $605.9 million invested across 80 deals in the first half of the year, according to the second quarter Venture Monitor report. That’s up from $363.2 million invested in 61 deals the first half of 2020 and $331.9 million in 52 deals for the first half of 2019.
