UPDATED 11:47 EDT / JULY 12 2016

NEWS

Codecademy raises $30 million to expand its free code learning platform

Codecademy, a popular website that offers free coding lessons, has just raised $30 million in a Series C funding round led by Naspers Ventures. Other investors included Union Square Ventures, Flybridge Capital Partners, Index Ventures, and Virgin Group founder Richard Branson.

Codecademy’s platform offers a wide range of easy to follow tutorials and coding exercises that introduce users to high-level programming languages like Python, markup languages like HTML, and more. According to the site, its platform has been used by more than 25 million people.

According to Zach Sims, chief executive officer of Codecademy, coding is becoming an increasingly important skill to have, and learning to code can offer better career opportunities for people all over the world.

“Since we founded Codecademy in 2011, we have seen an explosion of interest in learning to code as a key component of a 21st century education,” Sims said. “With millions of monthly users, and more than 50 percent of those outside the US, there is a great opportunity in partnering with Naspers to expand our business to deliver a wider breadth of courses in more languages and new geographies to create an education that allows anyone to access economic opportunity.”

“Traditional universities are poorly equipped to meet the evolving demands of technology students and employers, and Codecademy fills an important and valuable gap in the market,” added Larry Illg, CEO of Naspers Ventures. “The quality of the Codecademy product and the team’s execution have enabled a global footprint today and positions it well for future expansion.”

Codecademy is not the only code education platform on the web, and a number of companies, including Microsoft, have been investing in platforms that teach programming at all levels. For example, Microsoft teamed up with Code.org in November to offer a Minecraft themed programming lesson aimed at children.

Another well known programming education tool is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Scratch, a free platform that teaches programming logic through a simple drag-and-drop interface. Scratch has been used to create nearly 16 million projects that range from simple animations to complicated web games.

Screenshot via Codecademy.org

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