Virtual Medical Lab Simulation Company Labster Receives $60 Million Series C Investment

Virtual Medical Lab Simulation Company Labster Receives $60 Million Series C Investment

Yesterday Copenhagen-based virtual laboratory simulation company Labster announced a massive $60M Series C funding round from Silicon Valley’s prominent venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. Named one of Newsweek’s 50 U.S. Businesses That Stood Out During the Pandemic, Labster’s core team of 200 employees supports over 2,000 universities and high-schools with tens of thousands of courses and millions of students who need specialized medical lab training. This increased funding (which brings the total investment to $100M) is in an effort to expand the use of virtual STEM medical lab simulations to institutions across the world, especially as the coronavirus pandemic limits in situ learning. The considerable investment by external capital further demonstrates that healthcare simulation is continuing its journey to global mass adoption.

PR News Wire: Currently in 70+ countries, Labster has already put together an ambitious roadmap for expansion, and is now hiring across all major teams such as engineering, product, sales and customer success. The company will establish operations in South America this spring in the next stage of its plan to serve educators and students around the world with virtual lab simulations for hybrid, remote, and in-person learning modalities.

“One of the biggest questions we asked ourselves throughout 2020 was how we could help improve learning outcomes and dramatically increase the motivation of the many students forced to learn from home,” said Michael Bodekaer Jensen, Founder & CEO of Labster. “This round of funding will allow us to accelerate our global expansion and development of new science courses so we can help millions more students.”

Only recently this December HealthySimulation.com covered how Labster was adopted by 23 California State University Campuses to help CSU faculty enable students to experience scientific inquiry and discovery. The Chancellor’s Office invested in Labster to better target individual educators’ needs of virtual lab simulations, and various teacher training resources that can support their students’ transition to remote learning during the upcoming semesters.

Mads Bonde, Founder and Chairman of Labster, cited the company’s unique learning product as the reason for its growth. “The pandemic has clearly shown that a lot of ed tech fails because it merely brings old teaching methods online, without tapping into the many technological possibilities that are leveraged for consumer apps and games. Students are bored and we’re losing out on the potential for so many future scientists,” said Bonde. “Labster’s game-based platform makes learning addictive. Our approach stimulates students’ natural curiosity and attains much higher learning outcomes. In the future, we will see new scientists, healthcare professionals, and science-literate adults who were first trained in a Labster simulation.”

“Labster recognizes that if you combine the best aspects of in-person instruction and a game-based platform, it’s a transformative learning experience for students,” said Scott Kupor, Managing Partner at Andreessen Horowitz. “We are excited to support the Labster team, especially now, when teachers and students are especially in need of its engaging virtual labs.”

“If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that students everywhere need access to high-quality learning anywhere,” said Jenny Lee, Managing Partner at GGV Capital. “We believe Labster successfully leverages its game engine to deliver interactive virtual lab experiences that consistently engage science students whether they are learning inside a school building or at home.”

Messsage From Labster Co-Founders Mads Bonde and Michael Bodekaer: We are announcing today that Labster has received a $60 million investment in our Series C round of funding, led by venture capital firm, Andreessen Horowitz. We are thrilled by this milestone and more determined than ever to reach new teachers and students. It is simply not acceptable to just take existing teaching methods and deliver them through Zoom – we can and must do more to evolve how we use technology for better learning. The need is even more pressing with COVID forcing so many to learn from home, mostly only supplying them with the most basic technology to connect with their teachers and peers. We see that the current use of EdTech is preceding a new wave of technological advances that will radically improve education for the better. Our next task is to scale up our work to make Labster available to students wherever they are and however they are learning. We’re looking for talented people to join our team and help us with our mission.

Labster’s focus continues to be on supporting instructors as they empower their students to become the next generation of scientists to change the world. Labster simulations have proven to be a complementary learning tool for in-person university and high school education and have also been an essential resource to many hybrid and online courses.

More About Labster

Labster’s simulated lab courses combine the open-ended investigations with gamification elements such as an immersive 3D universe, story-telling and a scoring system. Leveraging technology, Labster creates scalable science training software with increased learning outcomes and motivation. The company’s vision is to truly empower the next generation of educators, medical professionals, and scientists to change the world.

Labster has come to offer a simulated virtual laboratory with a focus on revolutionizing the way science is taught to learners across the world. Covering a wide range of science topics, Labster virtual lab simulations offer over 140 simulation courses to meet the specific needs of educators across healthcare simulation. This virtual laboratory network provides a supportive, fully interactive curriculum-based e-tool. With this solution, learners can experience life-like challenges in an online environment that simulates reality while prioritizing patient safety.

Learn More About Labster

Lance Baily Avatar
BA, EMT-B
Founder / CEO
Lance Baily, BA, EMT-B, is the Founder / CEO of HealthySimulation.com, which he started in 2010 while serving as the Director of the Nevada System of Higher Education’s Clinical Simulation Center of Las Vegas. Lance also founded SimGHOSTS.org, the world’s only non-profit organization dedicated to supporting professionals operating healthcare simulation technologies. His co-edited Book: “Comprehensive Healthcare Simulation: Operations, Technology, and Innovative Practice” is cited as a key source for professional certification in the industry. Lance’s background also includes serving as a Simulation Technology Specialist for the LA Community College District, EMS fire fighting, Hollywood movie production, rescue diving, and global travel. He and his wife live with their two brilliant daughters and one crazy dachshund in Las Vegas, Nevada.