EdTech Virtual Internships is plotting global expansion after raising £12.5 million in Series A funding.
The London company, which already employs people in more than 25 countries, provides access to global internships at the world’s most exciting companies, trains students before and during their internship, and unlocks a global network of relationships.
Working with universities, governments, foundations and corporations, it says its platform ensures intelligent matches between students and companies.
Virtual Internships was founded in 2018 by Daniel Nivern and Ed Holroyd Pearce. This funding round was led by a global coalition of investors including Hambro Perks , Sequoia India & Southeast Asia’s Surge, Arsenal Growth, Kaplan, Ascend Vietnam Ventures and STIC Investments.
“When we started Virtual Internships four years ago, our mission was to create a world where internships are accessible to all,” the founders said in a statement. “Today, we’re proud to see that mission continue to gain international momentum.
“This mission was born when we noticed an unfair problem. Only 20% of students were completing internships; however, students were often told that they needed internship experience in order to get a job. But without prior work experience, internship experience was difficult to obtain. The result is a vicious cycle.
“Through partnering with early adopters in the US, UK, and Australia, our vision – to create a world where this problem no longer exists and to build a virtual internship program that is scalable and makes work experience accessible to all – gathered significant momentum.”
Compounded by the acceleration toward remote work, the company doubled then tripled in size and revenue within the first and second years.
“Fueled by the opportunity to help students and graduates from all over the world to boost their employability, our virtual internship program matches ambitious talent to exciting companies all over the world, based on interests, career goals, and merit – not location, experience, or background,” the founders added.
“This funding will enable us to expand our international platform, creating internship opportunities for the 250 million students in higher education worldwide… in turn, we’ll be able to expand our solution to employability for educational institutions all over the world.
“We want to emphasise just how thankful we are to our global team, investors, partners, and customers who have helped drive our mission. We’re proud to be working with these brilliant minds daily to accelerate our mission of helping one million young people pursue their dream careers.”