ApplyBoard: valuation, funding & revenue

Revenue

Funding history

Investors

Overview

ApplyBoard runs an online platform that matches international students with colleges and universities, mainly in Canada, the US, the UK and Australia, and helps them through the application process. Schools pay ApplyBoard a commission for students who enrol. Brothers Martin, Meti and Massi Basiri founded it in Kitchener, Ontario in 2015, drawing on Martin's own experience of applying to study abroad.

ApplyBoard is one of the clearest recent examples of how much a private company's value can depend on government policy outside its control.

Funding history

ApplyBoard grew very fast in its first five years and became a unicorn in 2020, raising about US$75 million at roughly a US$1.4 billion valuation.

In June 2021 it raised a C$375 million (about US$300 million) Series D at a C$4 billion valuation, roughly US$3.2 billion. Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan led it through its Teachers' Innovation Platform. Part of the round was secondary, letting employees and early investors sell some shares.

In September 2024 it secured a C$100 million credit facility, debt rather than equity, as it moved to reduce its reliance on English-speaking study destinations.

What happened to the valuation

From 2023 onwards, Canada, Australia and the UK all tightened rules on international students in different ways. Canada introduced caps on study permits, and fewer applications were approved. For a business paid per enrolled student, that hit revenue directly.

Press reports in 2024 said ApplyBoard's valuation had fallen by around 74%, to under US$1 billion. The company cut staff several times: about 6% of its global workforce in November 2022, about 4% in September 2024, and more than 150 people in 2025. It attributed the 2025 cuts to policy changes across major study destinations.

Note that a reported fall in valuation is usually based on investor mark-downs or secondary trading, not a new priced round. Unless a company raises again, its "official" valuation from its last round can stay the same on paper while the real market value changes a lot.

Revenue: what's public

ApplyBoard hasn't published its revenue, and we haven't found a reliable company-reported figure. Its revenue depends on the number of students who enrol through the platform, so government data on study permits and student visas is one of the best public signals of how the business is doing.

Lessons for founders and investors

• Concentration risk isn't only about customers. A single policy decision in one country can change a company's outlook. Investors increasingly ask founders how exposed they are to regulation.
• Peak valuations create pressure. Raising at C$4 billion sets a high bar. When the market moves against you, a big preference stack and a high last-round price make the next round harder.
• Debt can buy time. A credit facility avoids pricing a down round while the company adjusts. See our bridge round guide for the trade-offs.

What this means if you're…

Selling to ApplyBoard: a company diversifying into new markets and cutting costs looks for tools with fast payback and anything that helps it move into new study destinations.

A school or education partner: ApplyBoard's push beyond English-speaking countries may bring new partnership opportunities.

Researching companies: ApplyBoard is a good case study in using public policy data to judge a private company's performance. See how to research a private company.

Sources

Every figure on this page comes from the public sources below. Where sources disagreed, we used the company's own announcement or a primary news report. Private-company data changes; check the date beside each figure.

1. Business Wire
2. Wikipedia
3. BetaKit
4. Crunchbase News