HispanicBusiness

Miami-based Open English, an online English language school that has been expanding quickly in Latin America, announced Thursday that has secured $43 million in its latest round of financing led by New York-based Insight Venture Partners.

The company, which launched in 2006 and has received several previous rounds of investment, offers a 12-month program that helps students attain fluency in the English language. It offers the flexibility of live online classes with native English-speaking teachers; students can take as many live classes as they want over the course of the year and have access to advisers.

"Latin America has always been our core region and we see Brazil as a key avenue for growth for the company," said Andres Moreno, co-founder and CEO of Open English, said in a press release. "And with the coming 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games, bringing with it an influx of foreign investment, visitors, tourists and sports fans, this demand [for English language instruction] can only continue to grow."

The company, with offices in Miami, Caracas, Bogota, São Paulo and Panama, employs 1,000 people and serves more than 50,000 students in 20 countries. Its goal is to serve 80,000 students by the end of the year, Moreno said.

This latest round of investment was led by New York-based Insight Venture Partners, with the participation of California-based Redpoint Ventures and existing investors including Flybridge and Kaszek.

Open English presented and won at Florida International University's inaugural Americas Venture Capital Conference in 2010.