A $157M Fundraise for Guild Education Births Edtech’s Newest Unicorn

The education technology industry has given birth to its newest unicorn, one that wants to connect employees at Fortune 1000 corporations to educational programs and further their careers—all while helping higher-ed institutions stay in business. Guild Education has raised $157 million in a Series D round led by General Catalyst, and joined by Emerson Collective, Iconiq Capital and Lead Edge. A flock of previous investors also contributed, including Workday Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, Next Play Capital, Silicon Valley Bank, Felicis Ventures, Bessemer Ventures, Redpoint Ventures and Harrison Metal. All said, this single round is more than double the $71.5 million that Guild had previously raised. And the deal gives the company a valuation north of $1 billion, at least according to investors. That’s plenty of cash—and bragging rights. Guild claims that it is one of the few female-led companies to achieve the hallowed “unicorn” status this year. And the company is adding a big name to its board of directors: General Catalyst’s chairman and managing director, Ken Chenault, the former CEO of American Express.