Filmmaking taught by Martin Scorsese? Comedy taught by Steve Martin? Chess taught by Garry Kasparov? Tennis taught by Serena Williams? Cooking taught by Gordon Ramsay? If that sounds like some sort of fantasy school for famous expert tutors, you would be partially correct — except for the fantasy part.
MasterClass is an online platform where well-known masters of their trade serve up their expertise to Joe Public. For an annual fee of $180, you can access all classes through the web or mobile app, or pay a $90 one-time fee for access to an individual class.
Today, MasterClass announced a $80 million series D round of funding led by IVP, with participation from Atomico, NEA, Javelin Ventures, Advancit Capital, and Evolution Media. This takes the San Francisco-based startup’s total funding past the $130 million mark since its inception in 2012, and with its latest cash injection it said that it plans to grow its subscription service and expand into new categories, including business and politics.
Above: Stephen Curry teaches basketball
“Educational systems, both online and off, have largely avoided recruiting those who have reached the top of their fields to be teachers because they didn’t think it could be done, and if it could, it wouldn’t be done well,” said MasterClass cofounder and CEO David Rogier. “It’s a loss for humanity to miss out on learning from the masters among us. Early online education platforms tried to copy the physical classroom. That does not work. People who are out in the world perfecting their craft can’t teach in the traditional system. The problem…
