TECHNOLOGY

Austin tech company A Cloud Guru raises $33 million

American-Statesman Staff
[JAY JANNER / AMERICAN-STATESMAN]

Austin-based technology company A Cloud Guru, which operates a learning platform for cloud computing technologies, has raised a $33 million equity investment to continue its growth.

The equity round of fundraising will be used to add to its workforce and to expand its content library, the company said in a news release.

The funding was led by Summit Partners, with AirTree Ventures and existing investor Elephant also taking part. The new round brings the company's total fundraising to about $40 million, according to online technology database ChrunchBase.

Founded in 2015 by brothers Sam and Ryan Kroonenburg, A Cloud Guru helps its customers "acquire the skills and certifications needed to pursue meaningful careers in the cloud," according to a news release from the company. Specifically, its products help businesses and individuals "rapidly develop cloud skills, prepare for certification exams, and progress through learning paths to become gurus in specialized disciplines," according to the company. The company says more than 850,000 students across 186 countries have taken its courses, labs and quizzes. The company also has offices in Washington, D.C., Melbourne and London.

"We are eager to continue building our engineering, content, and go-to-market teams to support our customers and partners. We are now even better positioned to help more businesses and individuals learn to cloud," Sam Kroonenburg, co-founder and CEO of A Cloud Guru, said in a written statement.

The funding for A Could Guru continues a strong start to the year for Austin's venture capital sector.

In the first three months, Austin-are companies raised about $704 million, a $99 million -- or 16.3 percent -- increase from the same period last year, according to research firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, which tracks VC activity in the United States.

In addition to A Could Guru, at least 10 other locally headquartered companies have raised $20 million or more in deals this year. Some of the larger deals include software firm Magnitude’s $179 million private equity round in March, Siete Family Foods’ $90 million round in February and energy industry marketplace RigUp’s $60 million deal in January.