Labster, a provider of a platform for virtual labs and immersive simulation, has announced that it has raised USD $47 million in additional funding to support growth opportunities worldwide. According to the company, the new capital infusion will enable Labster to further develop in Europe and the US, as well as establish itself within Asia and Latin America. By investing more funds into its library of science simulations and expanding its reach to younger students and adult workforce skills training, Labster stated that it will be able to serve 100 million students around the world through its institutional and government partnerships.
Total investment in Labster now stands at USD $147 million. This new financing tranche is sourced from new investors: Sofina Group and Pirate Impact, along with fresh infusions from existing investors: Owl Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, EduCapital, NPF Technologies, and GGV Capital. Investors are joining the Series C round announced in 2021 led by Andreessen Horowitz. Additional investors included Balderton Capital, Northzone, Swisscom Ventures, and David Helgason, founder of Unity Technologies.
“As a contributor to sustainable development, Sofina is proud to support Labster’s vision of empowering millions of students with an engaging STEM learning experience,” said Bertrand Fawe, investment manager at Sofina Group. “The use of immersive virtual reality technology will continue to play a growing role in the delivery of education.”
“Labster’s mission is to provide all students, regardless of socioeconomic status or geographic location, with equitable access to high-quality engaging science education and virtual laboratories — an ongoing critical need accelerated by the pandemic and now rapidly growing globally as digitalization of the education sector with hybrid and remote learning continues,” said Michael Bodekaer Jensen, co-founder and CEO of Labster. “This additional funding will help us to continue growing our support for a broader group of students, teachers, and educational institutions around the world.”
According to Labster, its team of 350-plus employees supports over 3,000 universities and high schools, tens of thousands of courses, and millions of students every year. Throughout 70-plus countries, Labster is delivered on a digital platform that provides seamless access, implementation, and integration with other systems for users.
“Students around the world benefit from learning science in Labster’s virtual world, combining advanced techniques from game development with learning psychology and virtualization of labs,” said Scott Kupor, Managing Partner at Andreessen Horowitz. “This allows millions of students to access high-quality education that was previously unreachable. We are thrilled to continue to partner with Labster.”
The new funding will contribute to Labster’s roadmap for expansion. In addition to expanding into new geographic regions, Labster is now hiring across all major teams including engineering, product, sales, and customer success. The company added that the next stage of its expansion will provide educators and students with virtual lab simulations for hybrid, remote, and in-person learning modalities worldwide.
For more information on Labster and its virtual STEM learning solutions, please visit the company’s website.
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Image / video credit: Labster