Labster Secures $21 Million in Series B to Massively Expand Virtual Lab Catalog and Scale US. Operations
Round Led by Owl Ventures with Balderton Capital, Northzone and Swisscom Ventures with Follow-On Investments from Nordic Makers, David Helgason, Educapital, Entangled Group
Labster, the award-winning producer of virtual laboratory simulations, announced it has raised $21 million in its Series B funding round led by Owl Ventures. Balderton Capital, Northzone and Swisscom Ventures also participated in the round, while Nordic Makers, David Helgason, EduCapital and Entangled Group made follow-on investments.
Labster provides fully interactive virtual laboratory simulations for students from all over the world to explore lab experiments in biology, chemistry, physics, engineering and general sciences at their own pace. With over 70 virtual labs offered, Labster’s groundbreaking simulations engage students, and have been proven to increase participation in STEM curricula, while simultaneously increasing learning outcomes and improving retention rates.
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This latest round will accelerate the expansion of Labster’s STEM content catalog and development of new lab simulations, giving students and educators alike even more access to realistic lab experiences. The funding will also enable the company to continue to scale its U.S. operations, including customer support and sales.
“Labster is making STEM education more easily accessible and engaging for students around the globe by providing unique, interactive experiences in laboratory environments that are typically inaccessible to most people. This funding will enable us to develop new simulations and content from a wide range of STEM fields, creating more opportunities for students to learn, experiment and explore,” said Michael Bodekaer, Labster co-founder. “Sixty-six years ago today, two scientists changed the world when they published their discovery of DNA’s double helix structure. It’s our goal to empower the next generation of scientists to make more revolutionary discoveries like these.”
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More than 150 universities and high schools around the world took up Labster’s virtual labs in 2018, quadrupling their annual growth and enabling more than 200,000 students worldwide to use virtual labs as a part of their science education. Labster has also developed partnerships with industry leaders in technology and education like Google and Arizona State University, Lenovo, Pearson and Springer.
“Labster is a breakthrough company that is transforming how students from around the world access virtual labs and STEM curricula. Their initial offering is unrivaled in terms of product quality and student experience. The pace of adoption combined with the acceleration in student achievement is simply amazing. We are thrilled to partner with Labster as they scale their leading global platform,” said Tory Patterson, Managing Director at Owl Ventures.
“Mads, Michael and the Labster team continue to improve access to STEM education and redefine what is possible for both students and educators,” said Lars Fjeldsoe-Nielsen, general partner, Balderton Capital. “We’re proud to support Labster as it expands throughout the U.S., making its virtual labs and simulations available to more students and inspiring a new generation to pursue STEM-related fields.”
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