Two Peas In A Pod: Masterclass And Sonatype Each Raise $80M

Morning Report: Masterclass, an edtech startup, and Sonatype, a software security company, have both raised $80 million in new funding.

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While they may not qualify as the supergiant rounds that we’ve tracked lately, Masterclass and Sonatype each raised significant amounts of capital from investors this week, helping us to understand their respective categories: edtech and software security.

MasterClass And Online Education

Masterclass broke into the edtech space in 2012. The company, which allows its customers to stream courses taught by experts, announced that it raised $80 million in a Series D round led by Institutional Venture Partners (IVP). Atomico, NEA, Javelin Ventures, Advancit Capital, and Evolution also participated in the round.

Prior to its Series D, the company picked up $35 million in March 2017, also led by IVP. The new round is the largest funding event to date for the company, which has raised a known total of $136.4 million since its inception, according to Crunchbase.

The company offers 39 classes (think of them like courses) and plans to add 11 more by the end of the year, according to Techcrunch. Masterclass has added a few high-profile instructors to its roster, including novelist Margaret Atwood and comedian filmmaker Judd Apatow, with ambitions to bring on more talent in the near future. (The company recently introduced an annual $180 subscription for individuals who want full access to MasterClass courses.)

This isn’t the first big EdTech round of the year. China-based Zuoyebang, an online platform connecting students with tutors, raised a $350 million Series D in July. VIPKID, another China-based company, raised $500 million for its English learning platform.

Sonatype Keeps Open Source Software Secure

Sonatype, a company focused on helping companies using open source software build secure components and track vulnerabilities, picked up $80 million from TPG. Accel, Goldman Sachs, and Hummer Winblad also participated in the round. The new capital brings the company’s total funds raised to date to $154.7 million, according to Crunchbase.

The company plans to use its new funding to invest in sales, marketing, and R&D for its Nexus platform, per its press release. The company said that 1.5 million Nexus Repository users have been added to the platform since the beginning of the year,.

Cybersecurity has been a hot investment category in recent years. Whether its a corporation looking to protect endpoints in its infrastructure or a city government hoping to prevent compromising its own data, organizations are aware that they may be vulnerable.

VCs and startups have caught onto the trend. Cybersecurity company Carbon Black went public in April. Other players like Cylance have raised supergiant rounds for their own efforts, and smaller, early stage companies, like IronNet Security and Claroty, have gained traction, too.