Tade Oyerinde, a Nigerian entrepreneur, leads Campus, an online community college venture. Campus, founded in 2022 by the son of Nigerian immigrants, has offered programs taught by professors from universities like as Princeton, Vanderbilt, and Spelman College.
“I got obsessed with the idea of giving everybody access to these amazing professors” at an affordable price, Oyerinde told Techcrunch.
According to Techcrunch, just 16% of US community college students who transfer to four-year universities complete their bachelor’s degrees in six years.
Campus aspires to change this by providing a unique, low-cost, high-quality education. Its instructors are paid competitively, with a rate of $8,000 per course, much higher than the national average for adjunct academics.
Last year, the student business raised a $29 million Series A round from investors including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Discord creator Jason Citron. Shaquille O’Neal, a former NBA player, is among the startup’s prominent investors.
In an interview, O’Neal revealed that he decided to invest in the startup because of his belief that Campus could “change people’s lives,” and that reminded him of advice he had heard from Jeff Bezos in the past.
“I heard Jeff Bezos say, if you invest in things that’s going to change people’s lives, you’ll always get a great return on your investment,” O’Neal told Fortune. “But this particular investment is not about great return because I feel that everyone should have access to world-class education.”
Campus just announced an additional $23 million in fundraising, spearheaded by Founders Fund and including participation from 8VC. Last month’s Series A extension round occurred just over a year after Campus raised $29 million in its first Series A financing.
Campus will use the cash to expand its revolutionary learning platform and add courses. Although the company has a campus in Sacramento, the majority of its students study online. The Sacramento location offers courses in phlebotomy, medical assistance, and cosmetology.
According to Techcrunch, attending Campus costs $7,200 per year. It is entirely funded for students who are eligible for federal Pell Grants. This permits 40% of the college’s students to study for free.
This recent investment demonstrates that venture capitalists believe Campus has the potential to disrupt community institutions.
