EdTech startup Guild Education raises new $150M in funding, tripling its valuation to $3.75 billion

As employers scramble to fill open jobs, many companies are turning to EdTech startups to train new people and bring them to the workforce. One of the biggest beneficiaries of the training boom is Guild Education, a Denver, Colorado-based EdTech startup and a provider of a lifelong learning platform that offers classes, programs, and degrees for working adults.

Just a month after announcing the opening of a million-dollar daycare for employees, Guild Education announced another milestone in the history of the company.

Today, Guild announced it has raised a $150 million Series E funding round at a $3.75 billion valuation, making it one of the top global 500 unicorn startups. The new valuation is a significant increase since its last funding round which valued the company at $1 billion in November 2019.

The round, which was led by existing individuals including Cowboy Ventures’ Aileen Lee and Play Capital’s Ryan Nece, will be used to fuel Guild’s growth and increase product offerings for clients.

Founded in 2015 by Brittany Stich, Chris Romer, and Rachel Carlson, Guild Education’s lifelong learning platform offers classes, programs, and degrees for working adults, with a path for them to move forward in their education and career. The startup helps companies such as Disney, Chipotle, Walmart, and Lowe’s offer debt-free degrees to employees.

Guild offers these adults support from start to finish, with their technology platform for discovery, learning, and organizing the experience, and extra support with their tech-enabled student advising model.

Through its platform, users can enroll in programs from high school to trades, associate’s, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees. The courses are also flexible and don’t require a student to leave during the workday to complete a lesson or take an exam.

“The need for frontline workers is desperate now, but we have to put them on a path to career mobility in the next five years,” explains Guild Education cofounder & CEO Rachel Carlson. “[Education] is a huge differentiator for these employers to be honest about the fact they’re not saying you should come do this frontline job for 40 years; you should come do it for three to five years while getting up-skilled.”