PHOENIX, AZ--(Marketwired - Jan 21, 2014) - StormWind, the leading online training and e-learning company, today announced a $5 million Series C round of funding by GSV Capital Corp. (NASDAQ: GSVC). In addition to StormWind, GSV's portfolio includes some of the fastest-growing technology companies in the world, including Twitter, Dropbox, Coursera and Spotify. StormWind plans to use this cash infusion to drive continued revenue growth and hire an additional 200 employees over the next two years to bolster the company's sales, instructor, and creative teams.

"We get to see and invest in some very impressive companies in technology and training. We have been completely blown away by what StormWind has been able to achieve in such a short amount of time," says Michael Moe, chairman and CEO of GSV. "The company has completely reinvented the training and e-learning landscape with its innovative approach, Hollywood-like creative production, and world-class execution. It's not often that we see a company literally change the way business is done in an industry -- and StormWind has done just that."

Since the company's launch in 2009, StormWind has revolutionized the training industry with its Hollywood-inspired high-definition (HD) technology and distinctive approach to learning and online training. Companies look to StormWind for IT training and to create custom HD e-learning courses that effectively educate in half the time, and at a fraction of the cost of traditional instructor-led or online training. Additionally, StormWind's innovative delivery brings content to life in a dramatic way, engaging learners at all levels of the organization. By doing so, the company has created a roster of over 1,000 clients, including leading organizations such as Juniper, Bain & Company, Honda, P.F. Chang's, Insight and the U.S. Navy.

Founded by two-time Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year winner Tom Graunke and veteran technology and training executive Corey Frank, StormWind has realized over 200 percent growth in each of the past three years, and is now recognized as one of the leading companies in the education technology industry. "When we launched StormWind, we wanted to give our clients more than they ever imagined possible with online training. By combining our Hollywood technology with the best IT expert instructors on the planet, StormWind has brought e-learning to the modern world by combining education and entertainment," said Tom Graunke, CEO of StormWind. "With our highly experienced team and the guidance from one of the world's leading growth investors in GSV, we have become the fastest-growing e-learning company in the market today. This new round of funding will help us to further penetrate the market and hire more extraordinary talent as we continue to transform the industry."

StormWind provides clients with two options for training: IT professionals looking for technical and IT certification training can take advantage of StormWind's award-winning, live, online IT training. Additionally, the company's custom corporate training uses HD online video and technology to train employees by delivering top notch, highly relevant content that results in significantly higher retention rates and dramatic improvement in training results. To date, StormWind's industry-leading trainers have instructed thousands of students in disciplines such as Microsoft, VMware, Cisco, CompTIA, Adobe, and many others.

About StormWind
 StormWind is a Phoenix, Ariz. based company that finally brings a long awaited, live, Hollywood-HD quality experience to the world of e-learning. Using its proprietary technology, StormWind creates and delivers interactive training that is a truly personal and engaging online experience to achieve real knowledge transfer and retention. StormWind uses cutting-edge technology to provide HD IT training for enterprise clients on Microsoft, Cisco, VMware and dozens of other technologies. For more information, please visit www.stormwind.com.