Emerge, a venture capital firm, has successfully closed its second global early-stage fund at $73 million, surpassing its target. The fund, backed by more than 100 top industry experts in the future of work and education, more than triples Emerge’s initial fund, boosting their total assets to $100 million.
The partners at Emerge come from diverse backgrounds, including immigrant and working-class families, and even refugees who saw education as a pathway to a brighter future. Their mission is to broaden access to opportunities by supporting pre-seed and seed-stage companies that are revolutionising learning access, equipping people for career progression, and empowering them to utilise AI in the workplace.
Key backers of Fund II include KfW Capital, Laerdal Invest, Jacobs Foundation, and Southern New Hampshire University. Over the past decade, Emerge has invested in more than 80 companies now valued collectively at over $2 billion, impacting over 31 million people globally. Its portfolio has seen multiple exits and includes ventures such as Solvely, Colossyan, and Popp, which are redefining career navigation and workplace learning through AI.
Emerge prides itself on its thesis-led and community-focused investment strategy. Unlike other venture capital firms, Emerge’s approach is supported by over 100 Venture Partners – seasoned operators behind some of the world’s leading future-of-work and learning companies, including the founders and CEOs of Udemy, Degreed, Trilogy, Beamery, and Kahoot, as well as CHROs and CLOs from Fortune 500 giants like Kraft Heinz, IBM, Boeing, and McDonald’s.
These Venture Partners actively engage with portfolio companies across their growth journey, helping to accelerate their path to product-market fit, Series A, and beyond. They provide insights into market research, help source potential deals, support due diligence, co-invest as angel investors, offer advisory support, and often join boards or become clients. With over half of the Venture Partners based in the US, Emerge is well-positioned to identify leading European founders and fuel their expansion into American and global markets.
