ETS Strategic Capital Invests in Degreed

PRINCETON, N.J. (June 28, 2021) — ETS Strategic Capital announced today an investment in San Francisco-based upskilling company, Degreed, alongside GSV Ventures. This latest strategic investment by the private equity and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) arm of the organization is intended to continue to advance and grow ETS’s educational business and mission through high-growth deal making.     

In 2020, companies in the United States collectively invested more than $80 billion on corporate training for their employees, according to a study by Statista^®. Degreed has contributed significantly to this investment by organizations since its founding in 2012, serving as the workforce upskilling platform for one in three Fortune 50 companies.

“Our investment in Degreed will help us to continue to leverage high-growth companies who are aligned to the business and mission of ETS and grow globally as an organization,” said Ralph Taylor-Smith, Managing Director of ETS Strategic Capital. “The corporate learning, workforce development and reskilling/upskilling sector is a key new business growth area for ETS. Our latest investment is another example of growing ETS’s business in new and emerging areas to capture the white space around business we already occupy to continue to grow long-term.”

Like ETS, Degreed is a mission-driven organization aimed at propelling people to their aspirations and goals by furthering lifelong learning, upskilling and career mobility. The company is known globally for delivering an employee-centric learning experience. ETS’s investment in Degreed signals future collaboration opportunities with organizations in the workforce and work skills space as well as the ability to leverage skills-based platforms in combination with the organization’s English-language assessment line of business.

About ETS Strategic Capital

ETS Strategic Capital serves as the private equity investment and M&A execution arm for ETS, its subsidiaries and its partners sourcing transactions within both the domestic United States and internationally. The unit partners with the broader EdTech ecosystem to identify and execute deals, coordinate with other ETS business units to identify opportunities and needs, network with professional services firms with education expertise, and build direct relationships with businesses internationally — especially within Europe, Asia Pacific, Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Middle East & Africa (MENA) regions. ETS Strategic Capital targets private equity investments that are typically in Series B, C or later; acquisitions that are middle-market in scale; and growth partnerships that may involve joint ventures (JVs), channel-affiliate or distribution agreements, Intellectual Property (IP) licensing and technology-transfer relationships.www.ets.capital

About ETS

At ETS, we advance quality and equity in education for people worldwide by creating assessments based on rigorous research. ETS serves individuals, educational institutions and government agencies by providing customized solutions for teacher certification, English language learning, and elementary, secondary and postsecondary education, and by conducting education research, analysis and policy studies. Founded as a nonprofit in 1947, ETS develops, administers and scores more than 50 million tests annually — including the TOEFL^® and TOEIC^® tests, the GRE^® tests and The Praxis Series^® assessments — in more than 180 countries, at over 9,000 locations worldwide. www.ets.org

About Degreed

Degreed is the workforce upskilling platform for one in three Fortune 50 companies. We connect all your learning, talent development, and internal mobility opportunities to intelligence on the skills your business needs next. And we do it all in one simple, fluid, skill-building experience that’s powered by your people’s expertise and interests. So you can transform your workforce from within. Founded in 2012, Degreed is headquartered in Pleasanton, California, with additional offices in Salt Lake City, New York, London, Amsterdam and Brisbane.

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