go1 Raises $200M at $1B+ Valuation - Enterprise Learning Platform

The Rise of Go1: Securing $200 Million to Revolutionize Enterprise Learning

The demand for online learning has experienced substantial growth following the COVID-19 pandemic. A startup focused on providing tools for businesses to manage their internal educational initiatives has recently announced a significant funding round, reflecting both its expansion and future goals.

Go1's Series D Funding and Global Ambitions

Go1, a provider of curated online learning resources and tools for businesses, utilizes “playlists” to aggregate content from diverse publishers and sources. The Australian company has successfully closed a $200 million Series D funding round, valuing the startup at over $1 billion, as confirmed by CEO and co-founder Andrew Barnes.

Barnes stated that the newly acquired funds will be allocated to further expansion into existing markets. With offices in Brisbane, London, the U.S., Singapore, and Malaysia, Go1 intends to deepen its presence in Europe and the Asia Pacific region. The company also plans to broaden its range of services within the learning and development sector.

Leveraging Analytics and AI for Personalized Learning

Go1 currently incorporates analytics and artificial intelligence technologies to track content usage and personalize learning materials. Future development will focus on enhancing these capabilities.

Investment Details and Key Investors

This Series D round was co-led by SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2, AirTree Ventures, and Salesforce Ventures. Additional participants included Blue Cloud Ventures, Larsen Ventures, Madrona Venture Group, Microsoft’s M12, SEEK, TEN13, and investors from Tiger Global.

Prior to this, Go1 had raised approximately $80 million over the preceding six years, with a Series C round of $40 million completed 14 months ago.

Impressive Growth and User Base

The funding follows a period of significant growth for the company. Go1 currently serves over 3.5 million users and more than 1,600 enterprises globally. Notable clients include Microsoft, TikTok, the University of Oxford, Suzuki, Asahi, and Thrifty, alongside numerous smaller businesses.

Users actively engaged on the Go1 platform spend between two and six hours per month, and the user base has grown by over 300% in the past year.

Go1's Unique Approach to Content Aggregation

In a crowded online learning market, Go1 distinguishes itself through its unique approach. The platform boasts a library of approximately 150,000 pieces of content, none of which are created in-house.

The content is sourced from over 1,000 publishers and creators, including established names like Pearson, EdX, Coursera, Skillsoft, Blinkist, and the Harvard Business Review. This number is consistently increasing.

Simplifying Access to Learning Resources

Go1 aims to simplify access to these diverse learning materials for businesses, eliminating the need for individual negotiations with rights holders and streamlining the user experience by consolidating access points.

A "Streaming Service" for Corporate Learning

The business model is comparable to a streaming service like Spotify, where Go1 acts as both a distributor and aggregator, channeling royalties to content providers based on consumption levels. Rights holders can also customize access controls for their content.

Barnes highlighted the similarity, noting that Go1 also refers to its curated content collections as “playlists,” mirroring Spotify’s terminology.

Addressing the Challenges of Corporate Learning

The company was founded six years ago to address the lack of a centralized platform for diverse learning content. A key challenge for employers is creating cohesive and manageable learning experiences across different departments and employees.

Barnes explained that Go1 helps organizations answer the question: “How do I create something for the broad diversity of skills for our workforce?” The platform facilitates the creation of training for diverse audiences and suggests relevant content based on user interests, effectively helping users “find the needle in the haystack.”

Integration, Not Competition

Go1’s strategy focuses on integration with existing corporate learning platforms, such as SAP, Workday, Salesforce, and Microsoft-based systems, rather than direct competition.

Barnes likened Go1 to the “Netflix” button on a remote control, providing consistent access to a specific service regardless of the underlying platform.

Relationship with Microsoft and LinkedIn Learning

While other content aggregators exist, Go1 maintains a collaborative relationship with Microsoft, despite the latter’s ownership of LinkedIn Learning. Microsoft has actively integrated Go1 into Microsoft Teams.

Jeff Teper, Microsoft corporate vice president, stated that the integration enables enterprises to maintain remote corporate training and supports hybrid work scenarios, providing access to a vast library of online learning resources.

Focus on User Credentials and Portability

Go1 is expanding its focus on empowering individual learners. A key pain point identified by co-founder Vu Tran, during his medical training, was the repetitive need to re-complete basic training modules.

Go1 is developing features to allow users to “own” their credentials and certifications, enabling them to reuse them across different roles and organizations, similar to exporting a Spotify playlist.

The "Spotify of Corporate Learning"

Industry observers have drawn parallels between Go1 and Spotify. Nagraj Kashyap, managing partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers, stated, “We believe Go1 is the emerging category leader in providing a similar experience for corporate learning. Powered by AI and machine learning, Go1’s platform provides an intuitive experience, and creates an opportunity for individuals to expand their professional development goals and explore the resources to help achieve them.”