Coursera investor, GSV Ventures, backs global online high school, Valenture Institute with $7 million investment

The school plans to be the most impactful school by 2028 by transforming learning at scale through the delivery of high quality student-centered education.

GSV Ventures recently invested $7 million into Valenture Institute, a global online high school offering a curriculum recognised by the world’s leading universities. 

GSV is a global venture capital fund focused on early-stage entrepreneurial partnerships with exceptional global education technology companies like, most notably: Coursera, Photomath, ClassDojo, and Masterclass. It has, undoubtedly, shown its passion for investing in the rapidly growing $7 trillion digital learning technology space, the evolution of education, and future-forward approaches to learning. 

Valenture Institute was founded by Robert Paddock, who was also co-founder of Getsmarter, a transformative digital education company successfully acquired by NASDAQ listed 2U in 2017.

“The global demand for high quality online schooling is skyrocketing in the current climate. We are absolutely thrilled to be partnering with the GSV team, who have already added immense value to our business through their knowledge, connections and strategic guidance. We’re scaling up rapidly, and look forward to working with the GSV team to achieve our goal of becoming the largest and most impactful school on the planet,” says Paddock.

“The vision was clear: it’s not about their online experience or blended-learning boutique campuses, it’s about evolving education in a way never seen before. We back companies we know have the potential to change the narrative of education. In this case, the Valenture team has the grit, know-how and innovative spirit to change the way we educate all learners around the globe in future – be that primary, secondary or at tertiary level,” says Deborah Quazzo of GSV. 

With the goal of being the biggest online high school in the world by 2028, this investment will certainly add fuel to Valenture Institute’s already raging fire. The school was established as a fully-fledged online offering pre-COVID, and the forced shift to online during lockdown accelerated the school’s growth. Almost exponentially.  

Bradley Elliott, the Chief Marketing and Innovation Officer of Valenture says,

“The investment will be used for further global expansion, enhancing the learning experience, and building out additional offerings such as new subjects and exclusive bootcamps like Coding, Design Thinking, Data Science and more.”

More specifically, resources will be allocated to the roll-out of the school’s hybrid, tech-enabled, boutique campuses, which combine online learning, in-person guidance by Learning Coaches and socialising with peers and additional features of physical spaces. Currently, the school has three South African boutique campuses opening its doors in January 2021 in Joburg’s Dunkeld, and Cape Town’s southern suburbs of Newlands and Constantia. However, global destinations like London, Boston, and New York will soon be home to a Valenture Campus.

The future of high school, now. 
ENDS