MELBOURNE, Australia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Adventus.io, a SaaS-based college student recruitment platform with over 1,000 education institution partners globally, today announced it has raised an additional USD$8.5 million to close a USD$17.5 million Series A financing round led by Australian venture capital firm Our Innovation Fund, LP (“OIF”). Significant investments were received from NCN Investments and Kin Group USA who will join existing lead investor 333 Capital and the company’s founders Ryan Trainor, Lincoln Trainor, Victor Rajeevan and Richard Uren. This capital injection positions Adventus.io to accelerate its global expansion, especially in the US.
Adventus.io connects international students globally to tertiary education institutions in all major study destinations. Since its formal market launch less than 12 months ago, Adventus.io’s two-sided marketplace has experienced rapid adoption by more than 2,800 active recruitment agents operating in eight source countries with this number on track to reach more than 6,000 agents subscribed to the marketplace by the end of the year.
The capital will be used to accelerate growth from 12 to 30 countries worldwide and to double its current team to more than 400 over the next 12 months. Adventus.io aims to facilitate applications from more than 25,000 students globally in 2021 and is targeting 5X growth by 2022.
There are around 5 million international students worldwide, typically contributing to about 30-40% of a university’s revenue. Adventus.io taps into a hugely valuable space, as universities don’t have the resources or data to efficiently access this highly fragmented student market.
“The realization that universities need to digitally connect their student recruitment efforts has driven a more than doubling of institution partnerships on the Adventus.io marketplace over the last 12 months to more than 1,000 institutions today,” Co-founder Ryan Trainor said. “Although universities are signing up to Adventus.io all over the world, more than 40% of new University partnerships are coming from the US.”
Mr. Trainor says universities have particularly recognized the value of Adventus.io through COVID-19, as they simply haven’t been able to travel and physically connect with student recruitment agents. At the same time, universities are widely seeking more diversity in student cohort nationalities.
“The Adventus.io marketplace ultimately ensures we have globally democratized access for students to make fully informed decisions and enroll at the university that best suits their personal needs and ambitions.”
Mr Trainor said a key factor driving marketplace adoption by student recruitment agents has been its SaaS-based subscription model. The Adventus.io marketplace makes the student recruiter the hero by giving them all the tools and technology they need to recommend courses and institutions that best meet the student’s requirements, whilst ensuring they receive their placement revenue in full.
Commenting on the latest raise, Jerry Stesel, founding partner at OIF said: “Since day one, Ryan and the Adventus.io team have impressed us – to scale to 200 people within 12 months of formally launching is impressive and shows us they can effectively execute their growth ambitions. The product is clearly resonating with students and universities, especially in the US which really excites us. We have a strong track record supporting companies’ US expansion, connecting them with customers and investors through our deep US network. By leading this round, we’re focused on being an integral and value-adding partner for the Adventus.io team to rapidly accelerate their growth from here”.
Since 2018, the company has raised more than USD 17.5 million, with the latest Series A round being supported by leading technology investment firms.
About Adventus:
Adventus.io is an all-in-one international student recruitment marketplace. Connecting institutions, education agents, and adjacent services to be able to find and transact with each other. Seamlessly, reliably, and without bias. Adventus.io was founded in 2018 when we identified a fundamental problem in the international student market - there was no efficient, reliable way for institutions, recruiters, and students to find and transact with each other. Facing significant growth over the next decade, this is a billion-dollar sector that was built on infrastructure that has surpassed its ability to serve them effectively. In an era of one-click everything, one of the biggest macro industries in the world still feels analog. This sent us on a journey to build a new marketplace, fit-for-purpose. Using technology as the engine for change. To remove barriers, uncertainty, and bias. To create reliable channels into leading and emerging markets. And open pathways everyone can trust will guide them in the right direction. This strategy has seen 1,000+ institutions, 2,700+ recruitment agents join the marketplace supported by 240+ passionate team members who share a vision to change the industry. More: https://adventus.io/
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