Michigan VC Invests In London IT Training Firm
FARMINGTON HILLS -- Beringea, the largest growth capital investor based in Michigan, Monday announced a $5 million investment in London, England-based Skills Matter, Europe's largest provider of open source and agile training and events.
Launched in 2003, Skills Matter helps its 35,000-member developer community learn and share skills to write better software. The new funding will be used to provide even more opportunities for its community to collaborate with the world's top technology experts through expert talks, meet-ups, training courses and hackathons. In addition, they will now be able to offer work and collaboration space.
"Beringea's $5 million investment will help us achieve our mission to firmly establish ourselves as the number one place to learn and contribute to software innovation," said Skills Matter CEO and founder Wendy Devolder. "In 2013, we plan to run over 2,000 advanced technology events, bringing leading thinkers and technology experts from across the globe to share their ideas and inventions."
Trevor Hope, chief investment officer of Beringea's London office, added: "I am very proud of our investment in Skills Matter. Advanced software skills are and will continue to be key to ensure that the UK is globally competitive. Skills Matter's approach to sharing skills, training and collaboration is at the heart of software innovation and opportunity. Wendy is an outstanding CEO and her commitment to developing Skills Matter has allowed her to grow a highly engaged community and strong relationships with leading technologists and innovative software companies around the world. With our help we are hoping to further establish Skills Matter as the place to be for software innovation in Europe."
The investment was made from Beringea's London office, which also announced an unspecified investment in CognoLink, a London-based research firm. CognoLink specializes in providing expert network services, facilitating consultations between its clients and industry specialists who can deliver vital insights to support key investment decisions. The investment will be used to accelerate the company's international expansion and to further develop new streams of business.
More at http://skillsmatter.com, www.cognolink.com or www.beringea.com.
