Google X cofounder's Udacity valued at $1 billion in latest funding

(Reuters) - Udacity, run by Google X research lab co-founder Sebastian Thrun, raised $105 million in "Series D" funding that valued the online education provider at $1 billion.

The funding round was led by German media group Bertelsmann, with Scottish investment firm Baillie Gifford, Emerson Collective - a charitable organization run by Steve Jobs' widow Laurene Powell Jobs - and Google Ventures joining as new investors.

A person familiar with the matter told Reuters that Bertelsmann is now the largest strategic investor in Udacity, with a double-digit percentage stake.

Kay Krafft, chief executive of Bertelsmann Education Group, will join Udacity's board, the four-year-old start-up said in a statement.

Udacity, which provides specialized software training and vocational courses through its Nanodegree programs, had over 11,000 students across 168 countries last year, the company said.

Bertelsmann said it would support Udacity's efforts to expand internationally, adding the investment fit its focus on online education in the fields of health and technology.

(Reporting by Radhika Rukmangadhan in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Joern Poltz; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Susan Thomas)

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