Thinkific Closes $22 Million Round Led by Rhino Ventures

The eLearning platform Thinkific announced last month the company closed a $22 million funding round to help keep up with the growing demand for online learning. The round was led by the Vancouver-based fund Rhino Ventures.
Thinkific has experienced strong growth during the COVID-19 pandemic. So far this year, the company has earned over $500 million and projects to take in $1.5 billion in 2021.

Online course markets are experiencing a rising tide. The sector is forecast by some market researchers to be worth $350 billion by the year 2025. Thinkific says the recent funds raised will help support their further expansion in the eLearning field.

Thinkific Provides an Online Marketplace for Instructors to Reach Learners

Thinkific was launched in 2012. The company seeks to provide a simple and accessible platform for businesses and freelance workers to create and sell their online courses. It is used heavily by entrepreneurs.

COVID-19 has proven a boon for the company. Since the start of the pandemic, Thinkific has seen a 200% increase in the number of courses created through its platform. Large organizations have begun to rely on platforms like Thinkific to help educate their customers about entrepreneurship and social media across different industries ranging from fitness training to business coaching.

“A massive number of entrepreneurs are rapidly moving their offline business online to deliver exceptional teaching experiences to a new global audience. We’re also seeing a significant increase in the number of well-established businesses building out online training as a new revenue driver,” said CEO and co-founder Greg Smith, in a statement.

Continuing to Scale

The money raised will be used by Thinkific to further shape the future of online courses, develop product innovations, and further expand their workforce. The company plans on hiring 350 team members in the next 18 months.

As the need to socially distance remains, online courses like those offered on Thinkific’s platform continue to have strong relevance. Even when the need to socially distance settles down, employers could potentially find it handy to start the employees onboarding process through online courses instead of in person. Having these platforms will help the shaping of the future of online training and learn will look like after the pandemic becomes more subtle.

The need for online learning is at an all-time high, and it’s no secret platforms like Thinkific are taking advantage of it. Even before the pandemic, it was projected that these companies would prevail as modern technology became more advanced. The need for eLearning platforms will be how many people will further advance their skills while many places still face COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. Platforms like Thinkific will further support business and employers navigate during this unprecedented time and even time after that.

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