Ada, a Brazilian educational technology company, has recently announced that it has raised an undisclosed amount in a pre-Series A round led by Wayra Brasil, the early-stage CVC arm of Telefónica and Vivo. The round also saw participation from QMS Capital. With the investment, the startup expects to grow 50% by the end of 2024, in line with the 50% annual growth of the last four years, as well as maintaining the consolidation of several sectors in the B2B segment. It works with Brazil’s eight largest banks and relevant companies in the technology sector.
Ada began operations in 2019 and has developed three educational products to address the skills gap in the technology industry. It offers gamified strategies for attracting and keeping top personnel, with training programmes ranging from four to twelve months. The company has created education engineering to lower turnover and difficulty filling positions. With about 100 synchronous and asynchronous training modules, all of its solutions include technical and behavioural tests that may be tailored to the demands and technologies of the business.
Speaking about the company, Founder & CEO of Ada, Felipe Paiva, said:
Ada focuses on education for employability. It is estimated that 6 in 10 workers will need training by 2027. Unlike traditional education providers, Ada was born directly connected to large companies and uses a data-driven approach to ensure high efficiency in recruitment and training. In 2023, Ada maintained its growth rate despite layoffs in the tech industry and paradigm shifts with artificial intelligence.
The company launched its skill mapping platform and already has many active clients. This new product’s value proposition complements its training courses, which it has been offering since 2019. It is a tool for analyzing technology skills, whether to assess the seniority of employees and potential talents or to validate specific technologies in teams.
Ivan Yoon, Head of Investment & Portfolio of Wayra & Vivo Ventures, added:
The education segment is among Wayra’s priority investment areas, which also considers Entertainment, Connected Home, Health, Marketplace, Energy, Finance, and AI. We aim to support business development and understand possible synergies for Vivo products, such as Vivae, a free short course platform.
Ada is not just a company that provides education solutions but a learning organization that is constantly evolving. It has been observed that it has become more challenging in recent years to provide prompt feedback on the practical experience of its students. More than multiple-choice exams are required in programming. To enhance students’ practical knowledge and gather feedback quickly, the platform developed a tool that provides crucial performance information and corrects code challenge solutions through unit tests. This proactive approach to addressing industry challenges reassures the audience about Ada’s commitment to staying ahead of the curve and delivering the best possible learning experience.
