Go1 secures US$100 Mn in Five Sigma led funding round

Australia-based skilling platform Go1 has announced that it has raised over US$100 millon in its latest funding round closed in May 2022.

The round brings Go1’s total funding to over US$400M, increasing the company's valuation to over US$2B.  The funding round saw participation of AirTree Ventures, Blue Cloud Ventures, Five Sigma, Madrona, Salesforce Ventures, and SoftBank Vision Fund 2.

Craig Blair, Founder, AirTree Ventures said, “Companies are embracing the opportunity to programmatically upskill, reskill and empower their workforces, and Go1 has emerged as the go-to provider of learning content to make that opportunity a reality,” said . “We’re delighted to be a part of Go1’s global journey in building an enduring company at the helm of the Learning & Development ecosystem.”

The new investment will enable Go1 to accelerate its journey to reach a billion learners with upskilling, reskilling and knowledge tools that empower workers across the globe. The funds would also be used to hire new talent and expand leadership.

“Go1 has built a platform that serves the needs of both employers looking to retain and upskill their talent and employees seeking training for their professional and personal development,” said S.Somasegar, Managing Director, Madrona. “Go1’s successful expansion into the US and other global markets means they not only serve global corporations but are uniquely suited for the far flung remote workforces of the next decade. We are excited to work with the team on the next phase of growth.”

Since the past year, Go1 has continued to invest in the rapid growth of its global ecosystem of corporate learning. North America has recently emerged as Go1’s largest market, and the company has also announced a further step into the European market via the acquisition of Coorpacademy, which extends the company’s French and German language content partner offerings and creator reach. 

Andrew Barnes, CEO, Go1 said, "Leading organisations are recognising the acute need to future-proof their workforces by providing comprehensive learning and development opportunities. The incredible team at Go1 has made huge strides in expanding our capabilities and offerings to ensure users have access to education that supports their growth. These recent investments allow Go1 to build on that momentum to explore new content and resources, enabling our platform to meet the needs of every organisation and employee, and brings us closer to our goal of supporting one billion learners globally.

Earlier this year, Go1 acquired Education Changemakers, an Australian provider of professional learning workshops and personalised support for teachers and school leaders.

Similarly, the e-learning company has expanded its reach in Southeast Asia with offices in Malaysia and Singapore, affording multinationals and local organisations the ability to reskill the enterprise and promote ongoing learning. Go1 also expanded its content offering with recent announcements of Pluralsight and Harvard Business Publishing content now available to Go1’s audience base of over 5 million learners.

Peter Mobbs, founding partner of Five Sigma, "Digital transformation and the changing world of work have amplified the need for companies to invest in their people and uplevel their capabilities, fund specialising in EdTech. “Go1 is uniquely suited to help companies tackle this challenge with a comprehensive solution for workplace learning content. We’re proud to have led this latest financing round."