Chicago-Based Online Learning Platform BenchPrep Raises $20 Million

By Dan Anderson • Jan 20, 2019

BenchPrep, a Chicago-based provider of an advanced white-label online learning platform for education and training organizations, announced that it has raised $20 million in Series C funding. Jump Capital and Owl Ventures co-led this round and they were joined by existing investors NewView Capital and Revolution Ventures.

This round of funding incorporates debt financing and the company has raised a total of $28.2 million since launching. The funding will be used for fueling BenchPrep’s growth and to further enhance its product offering.

BenchPrep recently tripled its revenue rate and its team over the last two years. And the company signed partnerships with some of the biggest education and training organizations last year such as the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE), Association of Supply Chain Management (ASCM), American Institute of Architects (AIA), and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE).

BenchPrep was founded in 2009 by Ashish Rangnekar (CEO) and Ujjwal Gupta (COO). “2018 was a banner year for BenchPrep. We are excited to help the leading education and training organizations modernize their learning programs to serve millions of learners,” said Rangnekar in a statement. “The professional learning landscape is going through a dramatic shift towards online, personalized learning. BenchPrep is well positioned to lead this shift by helping education and training companies transform their business models and digitize their learning programs.”

BenchPrep’s platform offers learning program delivery by offering a variety of customized online solutions that drives user adoption and engagement plus improve pass rates and increase revenue.

“We view the acceleration of digital transformation in the professional education and learning space as a large opportunity and we are very excited to partner with an industry leader in BenchPrep,” added Jump Capital managing partner Michael McMahon.

Some of BenchPrep’s customers include ACT, Becker Professional Education, AAMC, CFA Institute, ProLiteracy, HR Certification Institute, Hobsons, McGraw-Hill Education, OnCourse Learning, GMAC, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. And more than three million people have used BenchPrep’s platform to receive academic help.

“For many organizations, delivering a modern digital learning experience can be very challenging and costly. By partnering with BenchPrep, organizations can offer a state-of-the-art learning program that generates high margin revenue and strengthens their long-term relationships with their learners,” explained Owl Ventures managing director Ian Chiu.