Dutch online learning & development Platform aims to become European market leader through strategic acquisitions
AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands, 3rd February 2022 – Studytube, a leading Dutch online learning and development platform, has acquired Springest, a top-tier European training-booking marketplace. Furthermore, the Dutch scale-up closed a $30 million Series B investment round led by strategic investment firm Energy Impact Partners (EIP) and existing investor Verdane. The funds will scale up Studytube’s product development team and boost European growth.
Studytube offers mid-sized and large enterprises a full-fledged online learning and development platform through a SaaS-enabled marketplace. On top of that, Studytube’s clients benefit from the automated procurement of learning products with courses from over 1,000 providers.
Studytube CEO Homam Karimi: “Thanks to the Springest acquisition, our portfolio has instantly grown to over 8,000 learning providers that offer over 250,000 online and offline learning products. In 2021, a total of 50 million euros worth of learning products were procured through our marketplaces. We’re welcoming all 60 Springest team members, as they have over a decade of experience in the learning and development space.”
Springest CEO Ruben Timmerman: “Springest offers companies and their employees the most comprehensive European training database. By combining our database with Studytube’s online learning and development platform, organisations utilising Springest can search, find and book courses, but also easily organise, manage, and deliver their learning & development in one place. By joining forces we become a complete and future-proof learning partner for our clients.”
Studytube adds over 30 large enterprises to their client roster through the Springest acquisition, further diversifying Studytube’s customer portfolio. These include renowned organisations like T-Mobile, Vattenfall, Aegon, NS, Eneco, and STORK. Combined, Studytube currently serves over 300 mid-size to large enterprises across various industries.
The acquisition accelerates Studytube’s expansion into Germany, Belgium, the Nordics, and the UK. Studytube now has over 180 employees, working across offices in Amsterdam, Berlin, and Kharkiv, with plans to soon open offices in the Nordics.
Studytube also closed a $30 million Series B investment round to scale up Studytube’s team from 180 to 300 people, and its product team from 60 to 120 people. Together with their two lead investors Energy Impact Partners and Verdane, Studytube also aims to expand its business through strategic acquisitions in Europe.
Nazo Moosa, Managing Partner EIP, explains: “The European EdTech market is crowded with single-point software solutions. Studytube is the first to offer a fully integrated learning platform, consisting of a Learning Management System, a learning experience platform, an integrated authoring tool, and a learning marketplace. This makes Studytube the perfect company to integrate other successful single-point software solutions. Together with their relentless focus on a superior product, we believe Studytube is going to be one of the winners in the European EdTech space.”
Iikka Moilanen, Principal at Verdane, continues: “Since we invested in the company in 2020, Studytube has grown significantly and Verdane is glad to be have had the opportunity to continue supporting Studytube on it’s growth journey, where it is now taking the next step towards becoming one of the recognized European leaders.”
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End of the press release
About Studytube
Studytube was established in Amsterdam in 2013 by CEO Homam Karimi, CPO Gerhard Riphagen, COO Sebastiaan Menheere and CTO Stepan Suvorov. Studytube believes it to be vital for organizations to be future-ready. That’s why it offers an all-in-one learning platform that helps organizations to make employee learning and development as easy as possible and inspire employees to unlock their full potential: Studytube is ‘Designed with your future in mind’. The company is headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and currently employs 180 people across offices in The Netherlands, Germany and Ukraine.
About Springest
Springest was established in Amsterdam in 2008 by CEO Ruben Timmerman. Springest is an independent comparison website for training programmes and courses. Our learning platforms are active in The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, The UK and Sweden. L&D providers place their learning products allowing you to view, compare and find your ideal course, e-learning, coach or education.
About Verdane
Verdane is a specialist growth equity investment firm that partners with ambitious Northern European tech-enabled businesses to help them reach the next stage of international growth. Verdane pioneered portfolio acquisitions in Northern Europe in 2003 and announced a complementary fund strategy entirely dedicated to direct investments in 2018.
Verdane holds €3bn in total commitments and has made over 120 investments in growth sectors, including advanced industry, consumer internet, enterprise software, energy & resource efficiency and financial services. Category leaders backed by Verdane include Confirmit, Danelec Marine, Dapresy, inRiver, HappyOrNot, Talentech, and Smava. Verdane’s more than 100 employees, based in Berlin, Copenhagen, Helsinki, London, Oslo and Stockholm, are dedicated to being the best growth partner in Northern Europe.
About Energy Impact Partners (EIP)
EIP is a global investment platform with over $2.0 billion in assets under management. EIP invests globally across venture, growth, credit and infrastructure. Investments include Ring (acquired by Amazon), Greenlots (acquired by Shell), Smartrent (NYSE: SMRT) , Proterra (NASDAQ: PTRA) and Dragos. EIP has a team of more than 65 professionals based in its offices in New York, San Francisco, Palm Beach, London, Cologne and Oslo. For more information on EIP, please visit www.energyimpactpartners.com.