ApplyBoard

ApplyBoard is a Kitchener, Ontario-based technology platform that helps international students find and apply to post-secondary and K-12 programs abroad, founded in April 2015 by brothers Martin, Massi and Meti Basiri, themselves former international students. The platform connects students and a network of thousands of recruitment partners with more than 1,500 partner institutions across Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland and, since January 2025, Germany, offering application support, document verification, language testing coordination and financial services alongside its consumer-facing tools.

ApplyBoard reached unicorn status in 2020 and peaked at a C$4 billion (about US$3.2 billion) valuation following its June 2021 Series D round led by Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board, before a sharp slowdown in international study-permit approvals across Canada and other markets — driven by government policy changes rather than company-specific issues — led Canadian Fidelity funds to mark down their stake by roughly 74% and ApplyBoard to lay off more than 150 employees in June 2025. The company has continued investing through the downturn, launching an AI study-abroad advisor called Abbie in 2024, securing a C$100 million RBCx credit facility for international expansion, and spinning out a separate institutional enrollment-management company, Capio, in February 2025, while its executives maintain the company is well-capitalized with several years of cash on hand.