San Francisco, Nov 5 (IANS): Posting 260 per cent rise in annual recurring revenue in the first half of this year, global online training platform Udacity said it has signed a $75 million (Rs 557.5 crore) debt facility, with Hercules Capitalserving as the underwriter.

The US-based company on Wednesday also announced that its Q3 enterprise and government bookings rose by 120 per cent year-over-year and total bookings increased 80 per cent year-over-year.

"Our clients clearly understand that investing in current talent, versus hiring from the outside, has proven to be a far more effective way to accelerate their digital transformation strategy," Gabriel Dalporto, CEO of Udacity, said in a statement.

"This new financing will help us continue to scale and provide global workers with the skills they need to future-proof their careers."

Udacity programmes provide industry-created practitioner skills through a series of "Nanodegree" programmes consisting of online courses and real-world projects in artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, autonomous systems, cloud computing, cybersecurity, programming, digital marketing, and product management, among other disciplines.

Udacity said its market growth is driven by increasing interest from businesses and governments for talent with the most in-demand and emerging technology skills.

Its clients now include some of the world's top aerospace companies, three of the Big Four professional services firms, the world's leading pharmaceutical company, Egypt's Information Technology Industry Development Agency, and three of the four branches of the US Department of Defense.

Udacity also partners with industry leaders to offer the high-level skills training to individuals.

Most recently, Microsoft and Udacity launched a Machine Learning Engineer for Microsoft Azure Nanodegree programme.

The company also partnered with AT&T to provide 1,000 Nanodegree licenses at a combined value of over $1 million to members of underserved communities.