A Kitchener tech company has ambitions for growth, announcing plans to hire more than 100 employees this year after a round of successful funding.

ApplyBoard made the announcement Monday. That’s up from the company’s current roster of 170 employees.

The hiring comes after a $55 million round of funding secured by California-based Anthos Capital.

The investments are aimed at developing an AI-powered platform and expanding into new markets.

“At ApplyBoard, we believe education is a right, not a privilege. Everything we do revolves around putting students first,” says Martin Basiri, cofounder and CEO of ApplyBoard, in a statement.

The company was founded in 2015 by three former international students frustrated with the post-secondary education process in North America.

ApplyBoard says it has helped more than 45,000 students with their applications in that time.