VR language learning company Immerse has raised $9 million in Series B funding which it will use to expand its team globally and further invest in virtual education innovation.
The $9m round, led by Eagle Venture Fund and Mustang Creek Capital, raises Immerse’s total company capital to $11.5m.
Immerse has also announced plans to launch a consumer-facing language learning app onto other major virtual reality platforms.
According to Quinn Taber, co-founder and CEO at Immerse, the additional capital will help to accelerate Immerse’s mission to “become the foremost educator in the metaverse”.
“Over the last four years, we’ve developed a revolutionary product that is fundamentally transforming the way languages are taught and learned,” he said.
It also hopes to be the “first subscription-based education service” in the Metaverse, beginning with the release of its Spanish language learning program in summer 2022. It also has plans to launch a French learning program later this year, followed by Japanese, Italian and German programs in the near future.
“We’ve developed a revolutionary product that is fundamentally transforming the way languages are taught and learned”
Founded in 2017, the edtech company boasts partnerships with “the world’s top language schools” to deliver leading VR English language learning to students ranging in European, Asian and Latin American markets. Partners include EC English, AEON, and CCEL, Taber added.
Together, they have “helped hundreds of ambitious language learners develop real-life foreign language communication skills from the comfort of their home, built an incredible team, and attracted world-class social impact investors”, he said.
One priority for the company is the removal of barriers to learning and connection, which Christian Rowe, co-founder and chief growth officer at Immerse, noted is especially important.
After years of social isolation during the pandemic, social and physical connection has become more prominent, he said.
“That type of human connection is why Immerse exists,” he told The PIE.
“To remove the barriers to making this kind of human connection possible. We’re so excited to offer that to all the serious language learners around the world who have been stifled up until now.”
General partner at Eagle Venture Fund Wes Lyons added that education is “one of the most exciting applications of virtual reality since gaming and fitness”.
“We are thrilled to partner with Immerse to bring language immersion to the masses,” Lyons said.
“This is a laser-focused team that has already proven itself as a VR pioneer and education disruptor through its B2B work in English language learning. We are not only huge fans of their technology, but also their values-driven culture.
“We are proud to support their work as they strive to deepen human connection and to create positive social change in the world.”
