Workplace edtech unicorn Go1 raises new funds, with investment from Insight Partners, to acquire German synopsis startup Blinkist
Brisbane based workplace learning platform Go1 has entered into an undisclosed capital raise agreement to acquire German start-up Blinkist in a deal believed to be worth $100 million.
Go1 has been on a wave of mergers since it raised $140 million last June at a $2.8 billion valuation. GO1 previously raised $273 million in a Series D a year earlier in a Series D led by SoftBank. The company has now raised more than $400 million.
In January, the company acquired British content curation startup Anders Pink for an undisclosed sum. And it’s been just over 12 months since Go1 acquired Swiss rival Coorpacademy.
Blinkist is a mobile-first learning app that creates summaries of books and podcasts for time-poor people to digest as explanations in just 15 minutes. It has about 6,500 titles in its library and more than 26 million downloads on its Berlin-based synopsis platform, with high user engagement and about 1,500 companies among its million paying subscribers. The company also provides employers with leadership and skills development services for their workforce.
While the terms of the acquisition, in cash and stock, were not disclosed, This is reported by Techcrunch that Blinkist’s largest investor, Insight Partners, took another $30 million of equity into Go1 at an upround believed to value the company at around $3.5 billion.
It has been five years since Blinkist, founded in 2012, last raised capital with a valuation of $110 million. It will continue to operate as a standalone company with 150 employees, with Go1 customers having access to the app’s library.
Go1 co-founder and co-CEO Andrew Barnes said the deal increases his company’s appeal when it comes to learning new skills and keeping abreast of business and self-improvement.
“The combination of Go1 and Blinkist offers something not replicated in any corner of the corporate learning market: a continuous learning experience that serves professional goals and is built specifically to be personally engaged,” he said.
“Go1 is not entering the content production market – we are combining our existing content aggregation service with Blinkist’s similar service for books to open up a new model for consumption of any type of learning content.”
Thilo Semmelbauer, CEO of Insight Partners, said they are happy to be an investor in both companies.
“Blinkist’s mobile content and product will expand the learning opportunities already available to Go1’s customers and form a powerful pair with Go1’s enterprise learning offerings,” he said.
Go1 backers also include SEEK, Microsoft’s M12, Madrona Venture Group and AirTree, while Blinkist’s other investors Greycroft, Headline, IBB and MGO now join the cap table.