Irish-led Highland Europe leads $20m fundraise for Unibuddy

Highland Europe, the technology-focused venture capital firm co-founded by Irishman Fergal Mullen, has led a $20 million (€16.9 million) Series B funding round for edtech company Unibuddy.

The London-headquartered start-up helps prospective students applying to college in 35 countries worldwide, including in the Republic, which is one of its biggest markets. Its platform enables would-be students to talk in real time to existing students and staff at universities ahead of applying for courses.

Among its Irish clients are Maynooth University, Dublin City University and RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences.

The latest fundraise brings to $32 million the total raised by Unibuddy since it was founded in 2017.

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“The higher education market is projected to reach almost $118 billion by 2027 and areas such as recruitment and retention are ripe for innovation,” said Mr Mullen.

“Unibuddy’s impressive list of institutional partners and growing participation from students around the world are indicative of the platform’s impact on university marketing and recruitment,” he added.

Fourth fund

Highland Europe announced a new €700 million fund late last year, its fourth such one in eight years.

The VC, whose portfolio includes Limerick-based waste and recycling management software group AMCS, has total assets under management of some €1.8 billion. Investments cross the US, Europe and China includes 46 initial public listings (IPOs) and $19 billion-plus companies.

Based in Geneva, Mr Mullen was previously a director of VistaPrint, an online supplier of printed and promotional material which raised $120 million in an IPO in 2005, and is now owned by Irish-domiciled printing group Cimpress.