ENTREPRENEURS AND LEADERS
Globenewswire | May 09, 2023
Go1, the world’s learning content expert, announced today the acquisition of Blinkist, a mobile-first learning app that summarizes key ideas from professional books and podcasts which is used by tens of millions of people worldwide. The acquisition forms the foundation of an innovative new model of corporate learning which seeks to engage learners throughout their day-to-day lives.
Go1 has made a name for itself as an aggregator of learning and development content, offering access to tens of thousands of short-form courses that are typically consumed in a corporate setting. However, engaging learners on a grand scale relies not only on democratizing access to more types of learning content but also on making that content available in more places, meeting learners where they are. For many online corporate learners, that's on their cell phone or during their commute.
This is where Blinkist excels.The acquisition of Blinkist expands Go1’s appeal to an audience that seeks to learn new skills and stay up to date on business and self-improvement topics with bite-sized content, consumable on demand. Learners can access Blinkist content through their corporate learning management system (LMS) but, for the first time ever, they will also be able to access content on their mobile, in CarPlay, or wherever and whenever they choose to learn.
“The combination of Go1 and Blinkist offers something not replicated in any corner of the corporate learning market: an experience of ongoing learning that serves professional goals that’s purpose-built to be personally engaging,” said Andrew Barnes, co-CEO of Go1. “Go1 is not entering the content production market – we’re combining our existing content aggregation service with Blinkist’s similar service for books to open a new model for consumption of any type of learning content.”
“I have been following the Go1 journey for a number of years and believe in the impact and opportunity that education affords,” said Charles Conn, chair of Patagonia, co-founder and partner of Monograph Capital. “As a co-author of Bulletproof Problem Solving, I know first-hand how critical it is to reach a broader audience, and it is great to now have our audiobook, book summary, and short course all available through one subscription. Go1's acquisition of Blinkist will significantly expand top content offerings to its users, increasing access and knowledge from authors and researchers to empower learners and organizations across the world.”
“We're thrilled with Go1's acquisition of Blinkist," said Thilo Semmelbauer, managing director at Insight Partners. “Blinkist’s mobile content and product will expand the learning opportunities already available to Go1’s customers and create a powerful pair with Go1’s corporate learning offering. We're excited for what's to come." Insight Partners will remain an investor in the combined entity, as will Greycroft, Headline, IBB, and MGO.
Mike Bertolino, global leader of EY’s Skills Foundry which partners with Go1 for access to professional learning content, shared similar enthusiasm on the deal.“EY Skills Foundry is an upskilling and reskilling platform. We are excited about the Blinkist acquisition and the ability to now offer summaries such as Jim Collins’ ‘Good to Great’ to our customers,” said Bertolino. “We partnered with Go1 over a year ago due to the depth of their library and expertise on learning. We believe the need for upskilling and reskilling will only increase in the future as the global workforce becomes more agile. Having access to both bite-sized content and longer form courses is ideal.”
In addition to its popular consumer app, Blinkist also works with leading employers to offer leadership and skill development to their employees.
About Go1
Go1 is the world’s learning content expert, aggregating content from top providers to deliver high-quality education and training across a range of industries and topics. Over 8 million learners from over 60 countries use Go1 to access curated, personalized training, and skills development courses in the formats that best suit them – all in a single solution. Home to a vast library of over 100,000 courses from hundreds of leading content partners, Go1 is a Y Combinator 2023 Top Company, an SAP Partner with an SAP Endorsed App, and an EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award Nominee. Key investors include SEEK, SoftBank Vision Fund II, M12 (Microsoft's Venture Capital Arm), Madrona Venture Group, and AirTree Ventures as well as Blinkist investors including Insight Partners, Greycroft, Headline, IBB, and MGO.
About Blinkist
Blinkist connects people with powerful ideas from leading authors and experts to broaden perspectives, gain knowledge, and spark understanding in all areas of their life, both personal and professional. Used by over 26 million people worldwide, Blinkist finds the most relevant, impactful books and podcasts and distills them down to their key ideas, which can be read or listened to in 15-minute explainers called Blinks. In addition to individual learners, over 1,500 organizations around the globe have already chosen Blinkist for Business to empower their teams at their point of need—anytime, anywhere.
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CONTINUING EDUCATION
PRnewswire | April 20, 2023
Interplay Learning, the leading provider of online and virtual reality training for the essential skilled trades, announces a partnership with the Temperature Control Institute (TCI), a unique state-of-the-art skilled trades education program helping underemployed youth prepare for careers in the skilled trades.
TCI offers six-month certification courses in HVAC and commercial refrigeration. All students graduate with at least one job-ready certification, such as EPA 608, OSHA 10 and NATE, and use Interplay's training to help prepare for their exams. Graduates are qualified for entry-level employment, offering employers in Memphis, Tennessee and Southaven, Mississippi skilled and job-ready talent. Qualifying students may also receive free tuition through state funding.
"Interplay Learning is like having another instructor," said Edward York, TCI Director. "We get more effective learning done in less time, and we're also seeing less wear and tear on our equipment. That's going to allow us to grow faster, so we can help even more young people acquire essential skills that enable them to turn their lives around."
Interplay Learning's immersive virtual-reality simulations and robust catalog of technical content enhance TCI's classroom engagement and hands-on training programs. The platform includes expert-led video-based training, knowledge checks, and hands-on 3D simulations to help technicians rapidly develop on-the-job skills and practice troubleshooting in a risk-free, familiar environment. The on-demand courses offer game-like training that provides flexibility so students can practice anytime, according to their learning style, using a tablet, computer, or virtual reality headset.
TCI is currently enrolling students at its Southhaven, Mississippi, location conveniently located near Memphis, Tennessee. TCI plans to increase its class size as it expands to a new facility in Memphis later this year and add additional training programs for plumbing, electrical, and building maintenance.
"Our mission is to help institutions build better training, better careers, and better lives," said Doug Donovan, founder and CEO of Interplay Learning. "Temperature Control Institute is a shining example of how simulation-based technology can engage and support the next-generation skilled workforce more effectively. We're proud to partner with TCI to support the young, underemployed community in Memphis with an innovative strategy that addresses the skilled labor shortage."
Interplay Learning builds better training, better careers, and better lives for its customers and their employees. Its award-winning online and virtual reality training for the essential skilled trades, including HVAC, plumbing, electrical, solar, multifamily maintenance, and facilities maintenance workforces, is scalable and more effective than traditional training methods. By leveraging immersive learning technology, Interplay's customers can train and practice hands-on learning from a desktop, phone, tablet, or in virtual reality, resulting in a highly trained employee who is job-ready in weeks, not years.
About Interplay Learning
Austin-based Interplay Learning offers scalable and effective training for the essential skilled trades that helps business leaders, educators and their teams build better companies, better careers and better lives. Interplay Learning's immersive online and VR training platform for HVAC, plumbing, electrical, solar, hospitality, multifamily maintenance and facilities maintenance workforces includes expert-led video courses, hands-on 3D simulations, knowledge checks and custom learning paths to upskill advanced technicians and help new technicians be job-ready in weeks, not years.
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TALENT DEVELOPMENT
PRnewswire | May 23, 2023
Promethean has been named the global leader in interactive flat panel displays (IFPDs) for education, according to Futuresource Consulting's Q1 2023 report on the World IFPD market. The company has been the No. 1 by volume in the global K-12 education sector (excluding China) since 2018 and has held the top spot for more than five years.
In the last 12 months, Promethean captured 21.2% of the K-12 market share globally and 30.3% in the United States. In Q1 alone, Promethean had a strong quarter in the United States as the leading brand, capturing 31.6% market share.
The launch of the ActivPanel LX in the first quarter of 2023 marked a major expansion of the company's current portfolio of products. ActivPanel LX is a lower-cost panel that provides customers exceptional ease of use and flexibility, along with the quality and longevity the company is known for. With this latest offering, Promethean is well-positioned to meet the needs of a growing segment of the education technology market.
"Every school and district have different needs when it comes to classroom technology, and we're excited to offer the ActivPanel LX to customers, no matter their geographic location, student demographics, or budget," said Matt Cole, EVP global sales at Promethean. "We've been a dedicated partner to schools and districts for more than 25 years, and we plan on being around for 25 more."
The company's flagship product, the ActivPanel 9, recently won four major awards, including the iF Design Award and the Red Dot Design Award for excellence in product design; the Cool Tool Award from The EdTech Awards 2023 for its innovation; and the Tech & Learning Awards of Excellence: Best of 2022 designation for its role in optimizing teaching for educators and learning for their students.
About Promethean
Promethean is a leading education technology company working to transform the way the world learns and collaborates. From our founding in Blackburn, England, more than 25 years ago to our global operations serving 126 countries today, we've continued to explore, innovate, and inspire—designing learning and collaboration tools that are built for breakthroughs. Our award-winning interactive display, ActivPanel, and lesson delivery software, ActivInspire and ClassFlow, were designed to engage students, connect colleagues, and bring out the brilliance in everyone.
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