Cambridge-based automated upskilling platform Obrizum has raised $11.5 million (£9.5 million) in Series A funding to help organisations optimise staff performance and workplace satisfaction through its adaptive learning process.
The round was led by Guinness Ventures with contributions from existing investors Beaubridge, Juno Capital Partners and Qatar Science & Tech Holdings, and new investor Celeres Ventures. With this funding, Obrizum has raised a total of $17 million to date.
Founded by a trio of PhD-trained Cambridge scientists – Drs Chibeza Agley, Sarra Achouri, and Juergen Fink – in 2015, Obrizum is a pioneer in the growing AI-learning space. It uses advanced artificial intelligence to quickly create, tailor, and measure high-quality digital learning on a global scale.
Obrizum empowers organisations to make data-driven decisions that allow them to grow, succeed and nurture their people through engaging in digital transformation. Its tech platform allows clients to optimise staff performance and workplace satisfaction through adaptive learning – saving businesses time and money and future-proofing their workforce.
Speaking about the platform, Obrizum co-founder and CEO Chibeza Agley, said,
Given that human capital costs are almost always one of the highest outgoing expenses in any business, not having a highly trained workforce who have easy access to the information they need to upskill fast is costing enterprises hundreds of millions of dollars every year and limiting their growth potential. We founded Obrizum because we knew existing systems of learning and training would not withstand the ever-expanding and rapidly changing global body of knowledge. We have since been proven right in our predictions that automation would be crucial, time would be at a premium, personalisation would be a requirement rather than a luxury and data would be the most precious of all commodities.
Obrizum’s platform is built on automation, adaptability, and analytics to enable businesses to measure digital learning and assessments at scale. Its artificial intelligence automatically analyses and curates multimedia content into modules dramatically reducing manual effort for human operators. The platform uses algorithms to provide users with custom skills challenges suited to where they are in their career development.
Commenting on the investment, Shane Gallwey, Head of Guinness Ventures, said,
Obrizum’s adaptive learning technology not only cuts training times for large enterprises but ensures better learning outcomes. The return on investment for enterprises who use their technology is startling and explains the take-up of Obrizum by household names here in Europe and the USA. At Guinness, we recognise the Obrizum management team as insightful and driven and with a strong commercial appreciation of what is required to build a world-class business in the education technology field.
Obrizum’s technology is trusted by household-name clients in Europe and the US, including Barclays, SQA, the University of Cambridge, Merck, and PWC, to name a few.