Online learning startup Academy Xi raises $14 million

Edtech startup Academy Xi has raised an additional $4.4 million to top up a $9.6 million round for a total raise of $14 million.

New investors included philanthropist Robert McLean, Cuscal chair Bill Conn and funds manager Milford Asset Management. Previous backers Alium Capital Management, Giant Leap Fund, Pangaea Impact Investments and Perle Ventures backed the latest raise.

Co-CEO Matt Hill said the additional funds will bolster growth through acquisition and strategic partnerships.

“This is an important milestone for the Academy Xi team and signals a new stage of our development as digital transformation and automation are changing the structure of the workforce,” he said.

Over the past five years we have built a portfolio of courses, attracted sector-leading talent and positioned the business for significant expansion.

Academy Xi launched in 2016 with a focus on closing the country’s digital skills shortage gap amid a shortage of more than 100,000 ICT related workers in Australia when less than 7000 IT graduates are currently emerging annually.

Its focus is to provide job-ready people faster and cheaper than its competitors.

Milford Asset Management investment director John Johnston said they were pleased to back Academy Xi as it sought to transform the traditional learning model and recruitment market

“This is a great opportunity to invest in a sector worth more than $700 million that is rapidly growing at 8% each year,” he said.

“Academy Xi’s unique offering, demonstrated experience in execution and strong performance are a great fit for Milford.”

The edutech startup previously raised a $2.25 million series A round in 2017, led by strategic investors Perle Ventures and Alium Capital. That funding, followed a $250,000 seed round the previous year as it looked to expand into Asia.

In 2018, Academy Xi partnered with incubator Tech Ready Women to launch a $100,000 scholarship fund aimed at encouraging more women to develop and launch a startup. It previously launched an Indigenous scholarship program for UX design.