A major HR technology platform plans to rapidly grow in the UK after a 拢110 million funding round valued it at 拢1 billion.听
Degreed, described as a听workforce听upskilling platform,听is used by one in three Fortune 50 companies and听plans to hire 200 people globally after听raising the听Series D funding.听
Meanwhile, its CEO is to step aside due to health concerns.听
The funding will be used to accelerate product development, enhance data infrastructure, fuel global expansion and pursue strategic acquisitions.听听
Founded in 2012, Degreed is headquartered in Pleasanton, California, with additional offices in Salt Lake City, New York, London, Amsterdam, and Brisbane.听
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It currently听employs 40听people in the UK听but听David Maitland, VP, EMEA (West) for the firm, says it is 鈥済rowing rapidly鈥�.听
鈥淭he current size of our UK听market is over $5m ARR,鈥� he tells听老九品茶Cloud.听鈥淲e are expecting growth of听around 60% YoY in the UK this year.听听
鈥淥ur headcount will increase by over 200 globally, with a large proportion of hires coming from our international offices and听locations, including the UK.听
鈥淭he听UK, and听EMEA as a whole, is听one of the top three in terms of听顿别驳谤别别诲鈥檚听international growth plans.听听
鈥淟ooking specifically at the UK, what we鈥檝e found is that employees, and employers, are hungry for solutions that will help them navigate uncertainty, help them听upskill for the future, and really make the UK a global leader in digital transformation and emerging technologies.鈥�听
Maitland is unconcerned by Brexit. 鈥淎s a global company working across six continents, economic, societal, and political change is par for the course,鈥� he explained.听鈥淲e had plans in place to account for Brexit, so it doesn’t really impact our UK plans.听听
鈥淚ndeed, upskilling has become more critical for many organisations听in the wake of Brexit, with many fearing skill听shortages due to immigration limits and 鈥榖rain drain鈥�.鈥�听
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Degreed听connects a听company鈥檚 learning, talent development and internal mobility opportunities to intelligence on the skills their business needs next.听听
The round was听co-led by Sapphire Ventures and Riverwood Capital, and听included participation from current investors Signal Peak Ventures, Owl Ventures, GSV Ventures, Founders Circle, Contour Investment Partners, Section Partners, and Alliance Bernstein, as well as new investor Firework Ventures.听
After almost eight years at Degreed, Chris听McCarthy is stepping down as CEO to address a chronic back issue听but will remain in a听strategic advisory capacity and sit on the company鈥檚 board of directors.听
McCarthy led Degreed through a period of significant growth with compound annual revenue growth of 76% and an 800% increase in enterprise value during his three and a half years at the helm.听听
In 2020 alone, Degreed more than doubled its active user base and increased its team by 50%, to 600 employees, across six continents, while making major investments in product extensions to support the upskilling initiatives of its enterprise customers.听
Former Box COO Dan Levin will succeed McCarthy.听“When the Degreed听board and I put this transition plan in place last year, the goal was to be as successful as we were in 2017 when co-founder David Blake made me the CEO,鈥� said the latter.听听
鈥�After a months-long process, we’re thrilled to have someone of Dan’s听calibre听driving the next phase of our growth.鈥�听听
Levin added:听“I am delighted to join the Degreed team. Chris and the entire company have done an amazing job delivering a service that over one-third of Fortune 50 companies use every day to retain, reskill and develop their most valuable employees.听
鈥�The workforce of the future will need to build and activate new skills on a continuous basis, and we are uniquely positioned to help them do just that.鈥�听