ApplyBoard, an AI-enabled marketplace uniquely designed for international students to apply to study at the best institutions of higher education globally, today announced it has raised $13 million in Series A funding. The financing is led by Silicon Valley-based Artiman Ventures, with earlier investors 500 Startups, Candou Ventures, Think+ and others following on. The funds will boost the company’s mission to make education accessible to students everywhere by continuing the growth of the company and further developing its platform.
Currently, over seven million students have travelled internationally for their post-secondary education, with the majority going to universities in North America and Europe. ApplyBoard provides a full stack solution for students looking to pursue international education. The company’s proprietary platform streamlines the application process by curating a student’s profile based upon a number of factors including academic background, desired major and financial situation, and through its AI, matches the student with a list of highly correlated schools and programs. By pre-vetting these applications and assisting in the visa process, ApplyBoard achieves a 95 percent acceptance rate for its students.
“There is a massively underserved market for international study,” said Martin Basiri, CEO and Co-founder of ApplyBoard. “Millions encounter the same problem, such as collecting the required documents and securing a student visa, every year. The company was built from my own experiences and challenges as an international student. We created ApplyBoard to offer our expertise and help other students with their application process.”
ApplyBoard’s mission is to make the best possible education accessible to students worldwide, regardless of their nationality or location. To date, ApplyBoard has partnered with over 750 high schools, colleges and universities across Canada and the U.S.
“The majority of the seven million international students will struggle to find their ideal colleges, and instead will select where they spend the next four years and potentially the rest of their lives, based upon internet searches and random chance,” said Akhil Saklecha, Partner at Artiman Ventures. “ApplyBoard applies technology to a very manual process, creating a highly efficient application solution for students and colleges globally.”