Articulate Raises $1.5 Billion In Series A Round Led By General Atlantic, With Participation From Blackstone Growth And ICONIQ Growth

One of the largest Series A rounds in history, partnerships will help company rapidly scale and expand footprint globally

Articulate Global, LLC, a market-leading SaaS provider of online training tools and e-learning authoring apps for the new world of work,  announced a $1.5 billion Series A funding round led by General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm, and joined by funds managed by Blackstone Growth (BXG) and ICONIQ Growth. Bootstrapped by founder and CEO Adam Schwartz in 2002, today’s fundraise is Articulate’s first source of institutional capital, and the company is now valued at $3.75 billion in one of the largest Series A rounds ever. With these new partnerships, Articulate will aim to further accelerate its growth and scale internationally.

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Articulate’s easy-to-use software, vibrant community, and interactive content make it easy for organizations to develop, deliver, and analyze online training that is both engaging and effective. The company serves both enterprise companies and small-to-medium sized businesses through two offerings. First, Articulate 360 is a suite of online course development apps and resources for enterprises with learning management systems (LMSs), named 2021’s seventh most loved product in the world by TrustRadius. In 2020, the company also launched Rise.com, an all-in-one online training system, a first of its kind for SMBs and departments in the enterprise. In total, Articulate has more than 106,000 customers spanning 161 countries and counts all 100 of the Fortune 100 companies as customers. These customers – including CVS, L’Oréal, and Nestlé, among others – have collectively created millions of training courses using Articulate software.

“We’re partnering with the growth equity firms we’re convinced will help us have an even greater impact in the world,” said Schwartz. “Companies face a whole host of challenges training employees in remote and hybrid work environments and reskilling their workforces post-COVID. They’re also under increasing pressure to build learning cultures that treat employees as whole humans, democratize learning creation and consumption, and reduce turnover through enhanced engagement. With these growth equity partners at our side, Articulate is well positioned to be the one-stop shop for organizations transitioning from instructor-led training to the online training that is so critical in the new world of work.”

Named one of Inc. Magazine’s Best Workplaces 2020 and a leader in building a human-centered organization, Articulate is guided by a commitment to provide the best value to customers and do right by employees. The company is deeply focused on sustaining a workplace where everyone feels empowered, valued, and safe to be their whole selves at work.

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“We strategically selected General Atlantic, Blackstone, and ICONIQ Growth as investors for their combined strengths, including deep operational expertise, proven experience growing cloud-based SaaS companies, and an extensive network of resources to help us scale rapidly,” said Lucy Suros, President of Articulate. “Moreover, all three partners support our passionate commitment to building a human-centered organization.”

“It’s rare that a company achieves the level of success Articulate has without any prior institutional backing,” said Anton Levy, Co-President and Global Head of Technology Investing at General Atlantic. “On key measures including industry leadership, transformative technology, customer NPS, employee happiness, and sustained growth, Articulate has established itself as a leader and innovator. Drawing from a longstanding history of backing mission-driven entrepreneurs, we are thrilled to partner with the Articulate leadership team to extend and accelerate the transformative impact they’ve already had in the world.”

Jon Korngold, Global Head of Blackstone Growth, said, “Articulate is a clear leader in the fast-growing online learning industry with world-class technology solutions. We look forward to partnering with the company’s management, General Atlantic, and ICONIQ to extend Articulate’s market leadership position.”

Will Griffith, Founding Partner of ICONIQ Growth, said, “Workplace learning has been a core theme only accentuated by the pandemic, and we are proud that Articulate directly addresses this challenge for employees around the world.”

LionTree served as exclusive financial advisor to Articulate and will invest alongside the other investors, bringing its global strategic relationships to Articulate as the company continues to accelerate growth.

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