Funding round
MasterClass Series B
MasterClass, which works in online education services in San Francisco, raised $15M in a Series B round announced on 23 Feb 2016, led by New Enterprise Associates. 9 firms took part, with 2 individual investors. It is MasterClass' third venture round on record; the one before was a Series A in Jan 2015.
$15M
Amount raised
Not disclosed
Post-money valuation
9
Investors
1 lead
Valuation
What this round says about the price
MasterClass did not disclose a valuation in this round. It came 13 months after MasterClass' Series A. It is 3.3% of the $461M MasterClass has raised in the venture rounds on record. MasterClass raised again 13 months later: a Series C round of $35M in Mar 2017. Its next priced round, a Series E in May 2020, valued it at $800M.
MasterClass' funding rounds
MasterClass has 7 venture rounds on record. This one is highlighted.
- Seed 1 Jan 2014, led by Harrison Metal $1.9M
- Series A 1 Jan 2015, led by Javelin Venture Partners $4.5M
- Series B this round 23 Feb 2016, led by New Enterprise Associates $15M
- Series C 28 Mar 2017, led by Institutional Venture Partners $35M
- Series D 1 Sep 2018, led by Institutional Venture Partners $80M
- Series E 20 May 2020, led by Fidelity Management & Research Company and Fidelity $100M$800M post-money
- Series F 13 May 2021, led by Fidelity Management & Research Company $225M$2.75B post-money
Investors
Who put money in
New Enterprise Associates led the round with 8 other firms.
Lead investor
- New Enterprise Associates backs 286 venture-backed companies new investor
Also in the round
- backs 46 venture-backed companies new investor
- backs 33 venture-backed companies new investor
- Bloomberg Beta new investor
- Novel TMT Ventures new investor
- backs 28 venture-backed companies new investor
- WME Ventures new investor
- Downey Ventures new investor
- MX Investments new investor
Individual investors: Usher and Robert Downey Jr.. Joined the board: Rick Yang (New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA)).
Use of proceeds
What the money is for
According to the announcement, the money goes to hiring, product development, sales and marketing, scaling operations and working capital.
- Hiring
- Product development
- Sales and marketing
- Scaling operations
- Working capital
Comparable rounds
How it compares
The closest in time, other companies' Series B rounds in Learning, Tutoring & Courses:
| Company | Announced | Amount | Post-money | Led by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Learning, Tutoring & Courses | 13 Jan 2016 | $4.0M | not disclosed | Red Ventures |
| Zuoyebang Learning, Tutoring & Courses | 28 Sep 2016 | $60M | not disclosed | GGV Capital and Xiang He Capital |
| Learning, Tutoring & Courses | 23 Jan 2017 | $15M | not disclosed | CapitalG and Alphabet |
Sources
Where this comes from
Reported by 4 sources.
Questions
Frequently asked
How much did MasterClass raise in its Series B round?
MasterClass raised $15M in its Series B round, announced in Feb 2016.
Who led MasterClass' Series B round?
New Enterprise Associates led it, with Javelin Venture Partners, Harrison Metal, Bloomberg Beta, Novel TMT Ventures and Advancit Capital and 3 more.
What was MasterClass' valuation at the Series B round?
It was not disclosed.
Did MasterClass raise again after this round?
Yes: a Series C round in Mar 2017 of $35M.