Galvanize, a Denver, CO-based network of urban campuses designed to educate digital innovators and entrepreneurs, received $18m in Series A financing.
The round was led by University Ventures Fund, with participation from other investors.
The company intends to use the funds to open new campuses across the U.S. and expand gSchool, its education operation, with plans to launch several new programs by the fall. Galvanize will also be growing its campus in San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood to 70,000 square feet, enabling expansion of the campus’ membership capacity, gSchool classroom spaces and meeting and event areas, like the addition of a 250-seat auditorium.
Launched in Denver in October 2012 by Jim Deters, CEO, Lawrence Mandes and Chris Onan, Galvanize has expanded to San Francisco, California, and Boulder, Colorado, with additional campuses in Denver and Fort Collins, Colorado, also underway. Each campus creates a community of entrepreneurs, students, employers, mentors and investors under one place, creating an ecosystem where working and learning are combined.
The company is today home to more than 150 startups and member companies, including Box, WordPress creator Automattic, Good.Co and Pandora, and has partnerships with Google, IBM and others to provide content and programming to the startup community. In addition to workshops and networking events, Galvanize also facilitates mentor office hours where members can gain business advice from experienced entrepreneurs, investors and industry experts. By becoming a community member, digital innovators and entrepreneurs are able to learn from other members, find collaborators and leverage special resources, such as its investor network and formal education and training opportunities. They can level up their skills with a part-time workshop or take a 24-week, full-time developer training program at gSchool.
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FinSMEs
18/06/2014