Instructure Secures $40 Million in a Pre-IPO Series E Round

SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Instructure, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company that created the Canvas learning management system, today announced it has raised $40 million in a Series E round of funding. The pre-IPO investment is led by Insight Venture Partners with Bessemer Venture Partners and EPIC Ventures participating. The investment will finance the launch of Bridge, a cloud-based corporate learning and engagement platform that signals Instructure's expansion into the learning segment of the enterprise market.

The investment brings Instructure's total venture backing to approximately $90 million. Current investors include Bessemer Venture Partners, EPIC Ventures, Insight Ventures and OpenView Venture Partners. The funding will help the company continue to invest in the higher education and K-12 markets with its flagship product, Canvas, while expanding to help enterprises assess and improve employee engagement through Bridge. Foundation partners include CLEARLINK, OpenTable and Oregon State University.

"This funding allows us to continue to innovate in education while simultaneously expanding to the learning portion of human capital management market," said Josh Coates, CEO at Instructure. "We believe Bridge makes it easier for businesses to improve employee engagement and learning, just as Canvas made it easier for educators to improve teaching and learning."

Since its formal launch in 2011, the Canvas LMS has attracted 18 million students and teachers from more than 1,200 universities, colleges and K-12 school districts. Bridge, which Instructure launched in response to the increasing dissatisfaction in the marketplace with existing corporate learning and engagement systems, will help organizations and businesses assess employee sentiment, build knowledge and align employee and organizational goals.

"Education is no longer confined to academic classrooms, and we're excited to partner with a leading technology company like Instructure to help respond to a corporate business need and expand its market footprint," said Ryan Hinkle, managing director at Insight Venture Partners. "Instructure has already achieved a leadership position in cloud-based learning software for education, and the next logical step is to broaden its scope to providing learning technology to other markets."