Delivering on the Promise of Higher Education
By Victor Hu
At Lumos Capital Group we believe that access to education is the on-ramp to full participation in a knowledge economy.
This is more true today than ever before. As technology continues to transform the workplace, the demand for digital skills is increasing in every sector. At the same time, many traditional jobs are being eroded by automation.
The promise of education is to be a gateway to a better future, to allow each person to reach their full potential. That is why, at Lumos Capital Group, increasing access to high quality education and skills training through our portfolio companies is core to our mission and investment mandate.
Today, we are proud to announce that Lumos is leading a Series C growth investment in education innovator OpenClassrooms.
Founded in 2013 by education pioneers Pierre Dubuc and Mathieu Nebra, OpenClassrooms’s mission is to Make Education Accessible. Even before founding OpenClassrooms, Pierre and Mathieu had already been working together for years to use the power of the internet to lower the cost of education. Today, the company has 2 million learners per month across over 140 countries.
OpenClassrooms has created a model that works for today’s adult learners, and helps those students to acquire skills that employers are seeking. The curriculum is designed specifically around competencies that are in-demand in the modern workforce. The programs are project-driven, applying the science of hands-on, experiential learning. The courses are self-paced and are convenient for anyone to access.
Crucially, all of the company’s Career Path offerings include one-on-one mentorship sessions with an industry professional. These mentors help students get unstuck, guide them through the curriculum, keep them motivated, and give them a vision for a career path ahead.
And most importantly, students can access the OpenClassrooms’ platform for free. The core content is open to anyone with an internet connection. Gaining access to the full suite of services, including mentorship, projects and career services, is affordable and pay-as-you-go. Courses are stackable: as students complete courses on a Career Path, they can earn a fully recognized bachelor’s or even master’s level accredited diploma.
This is a model that can be transformative for individuals, and highly scalable. But institutions have also recognized its potential. For businesses, OpenClassrooms provides a scalable way to upskill or reskill their employees. Today, hundreds of businesses work with the company to provide apprenticeship programs to recruits, allowing employees to learn while they work and earn a fully recognized diploma even while being employed. And multinationals like Amazon, CapGemini, Axa, Microsoft and others use OpenClassrooms to help their employees earn credentials in areas like digital transformation and AI engineering. For public sector clients, OpenClassrooms has emerged as a preferred digital reskilling partner that offers not only highly scalable and effective programs, but key resources and career services to help unemployed and underemployed workers find their next job.
In the coming years, OpenClassrooms will expand rapidly into new markets. We are proud to partner with them and look forward to working closely with Pierre, Mathieu and the rest of their talented team to bring the promise of higher education to more people around the world.