Coursera, an online education platform, has continued to grow during the pandemic of the new coronavirus (COVID-19). Sources said they would file an application for a stock listing on March 5, US time. Discussions with underwriters and underwriters have been held since 2020, but March 5th will be the first legal process in the company’s IPO process.

Headquartered in Mountainview, the company was founded in 2012 and had its final valuation in the private market, Series F in July 2020, at $ 2.4 billion. Bloomberg estimates Coursera’s latest corporate value is $ 5 billion.

With the latest funding, the company’s cash balance is $ 300 million, about the same as before the listing of the online learning platform Chegg. Coursera CEO Jeff Maggioncalda has finally announced his intention to go to an IPO.

Coursera was busy during the pandemic. The company has added an enterprise division to its business, alongside Udemy, a large open online course that is also planning to go public. Named Coursera for Campus, it helps universities and others set up their own online courses. This software, which also has an entrance examination and a credit system, is used by more than 3,700 colleges around the world. The revenue of this business is unknown, but Udemy’s Udemy for Business is stable with annual sales of just under $ 200 million. In February 2021, the company obtained a B Corp certification that represents the public nature of the company. It represents a company’s high social and environmental performance. The company has also transformed from a mere private company to a public benefit corporation.

GSV, a VC company that primarily supports EdTech companies, is responsible for the largest portion of Coursera’s fund. According to the previous announcement by GSV, the total amount of Fund II is 180 million dollars (about 20 billion yen).

It makes sense for EdTech companies to seek listing while the market heat continues and remote education remains the mainstream of teaching. Among the recently listed peers, Nerdy and Skillsoft have made their debut in the open market using SPACs. And when listed, Coursera will be on par with not only these up-and-coming companies, but also veteran EdTech public companies such as 2U, Chegg, K12 Inc, and Zovio Solutions.

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