An education business started by Euan Blair has secured new funding from venture capitalists thought to value the industry as high as $ 200m (£ 147m) and shine a fortune for former prime minister Tony’s son. Blair.
Multiverse is a start-up organization set up in 2016 to help young people who don’t want to go to university find apprenticeships with companies and access training.
The valuation of new investors in the industry showed that Blair could be valued at more than $ 60m, making the 37-year-old a paper millionaire. A spokesman for the company declined to comment.
The new funding round was led by U.S. venture capital firm General Catalyst and also includes Google startup sponsor Google Ventures. Existing investors include Sky executive chairman Jeremy Darroch, and Lightspeed Ventures and Index Ventures, which contributed to a $ 16m fundraiser last year, also added new money.
Multiverse, formerly known as White Hat, said it would use the money to expand across the UK, with plans to create 200 jobs in 2021. The company will also launch in New York on this month.
In Europe, the company has more than 300 clients including Facebook, Morgan Stanley, KPMG, Fujitsu, Capita and Microsoft. In the last year, the company has tripled the number of apprentices it trains to more than 2,000.
Blair, whose father used a speech in 1999 to set a target of 50% of young people entering higher education, said it was time to move away from the idea that university education is the only thing path to success.
“This model is fundamentally broken – all too often failing to equip people with the skills they need and failing to spread opportunity fairly across society. We are building a unique approach both on the university system, and on a model of physical training that rarely has long-term impact and real results.
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“There are many different ways for people to succeed and we empower people from different communities to access the best opportunities through apprenticeships as they embark on a successful and fulfilling career.”
Multiverse said its model of matching talented people with apprenticeships has been made for more equal access to good jobs.
He said 55% of apprentices placed by Multiverse are people of color, 22% are black and 53% are women, and 33% have received free school meals.
Blair has held 6m shares – an estimated 40% stake – in the industry since November 2020, according to Companies House filings. The Labor leader’s eldest child is understood to have retained his holding, although his pledge appears to have been reduced by the $ 44m in new funding announced on Tuesday.