Multiverse raises $44M Series B to scale apprenticeship alternative to university

Apprenticeship platform matching non-college graduates with paid apprenticeships at companies like Meta, Morgan Stanley, Microsoft, and KPMG, with employers covering training costs.

Employers fund 18-month paid apprenticeships in digital skills, creating a scalable university alternative that diversifies their workforce.

$44M Series B (2023), $19M Series A (2019)

Euan Blair, son of former UK PM Tony Blair, founded WhiteHat in 2016 after seeing friends struggle to enter careers without university degrees. He bet that employers would pay for a structured apprenticeship pipeline that delivers job-ready talent faster than universities. The company rebranded to Multiverse in 2021.

By 2019, Multiverse had 1,000 apprentices and raised a $19M Series A led by Index Ventures. The model: employers pay Multiverse to recruit, train, and mentor apprentices for ~18 months in fields like software engineering, digital marketing, and data analysis. Apprentices earn a salary while learning. In 2023, a $44M Series B led by General Catalyst funded US expansion with New York HQ and hubs in Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta. The company tripled to 3,000 apprentices in one year.

As of 2023, Multiverse is scaling in the US with a high-profile investor syndicate and major employer partnerships. The company remains private and growing.

University degrees are expensive, slow, and exclude capable candidates who can't afford them.

Employers face acute talent shortages in digital roles and are willing to pay for a vetted, job-ready pipeline.

Apprentices earn while they learn, removing the opportunity cost that blocks many from upskilling.

The model aligns incentives: employers get diverse, trained talent; apprentices get careers without debt; Multiverse gets paid per placement.

When the traditional credentialing path (university) excludes talent that employers need, a paid apprenticeship model funded by employers can unlock both supply and demand sides simultaneously.

As of early 2023, Multiverse is deploying the Series B to build its US operation, targeting employer demand to determine additional hub cities beyond the initial four. The company continues to expand career pathways — data analysis apprenticeships have proven especially popular — while maintaining its social mission of diversifying access to high-growth careers.