Lepaya, an Amsterdam-based Amsterdam-based corporate upskilling provider, has raised $38 million in a funding round led by Endeit, with participation from Educapital, Mars Growth Capital, and Liquidity Capital, as well as the existing investors Target Global and Mediahuis Ventures.
With the new funding, Lepaya will accelerate the development and commercialization of its AI-driven capability development platform, which is poised to revolutionize how global organizations like ING, Dell, Maersk, KPMG Freudenberg, and the rest of its 2000 clients identify, close, and track skills gaps.
René Janssen and Peter Kuperus founded the company in 2018, believing that the correct training at the right time, focusing on the right skill, increases organizational productivity and promotes overall corporate success. The firm focuses on increasing talent retention and productivity through a blend of online, offline, and virtual reality training through an all-in-one capability platform. The startup aims to empower professionals worldwide to be more effective in their work and to lead happier lives so that they can ignite businesses.
Speaking about the company, Founder & CEO of Lepaya, René Janssen, said:
The rapid developments in AI allow us to provide organizations and the world with what we always had envisioned, and individual employees with what they deserve: a deeply personal insight in skill gaps, and a truly contextualized way to bridge them; by combining the best artificial and human intelligence and taking care of all the complex operations surrounding global upskilling programs.
By putting the learner at the focus of Lepaya’s training strategy, the organization aims to increase, push the boundaries, and enable talent reskilling and upskilling. Lepaya combines artificial and human intelligence to ensure employees develop the skills to be competent and productive in their everyday work. With this latest round of funding, Lepaya will invest in AI technologies such as AI-coach, which will tailor learning content to each learner’s context and career level. Further investments will be made to expand skill data analysis, allowing organizations and their leaders to gain deeper skill information at the corporate and industry levels.
Edwin Hengstmengel, from Endeit Capital, commented:
It’s impressive how Lepaya managed to engrain its platform as a core part of its client’s upskilling DNA, and we are very excited to be part of the continued journey.
Jonathan Denais, from Educapital, added:
In the tight labour market, corporates struggle with workforce planning. What we love about Lepaya’s platform is that it not only identifies skill gaps but also provides a scalable way for the enterprise to upskill people and keep promoting their internal talent.
In September of last year, Lepaya bought vCOACH, the first fully digital soft skill development platform with individual feedback and practice. Previously, the Dutch EdTech company acquired Smartenup, a training company that helps professionals operate better, quicker, and smarter with data. It raised €35 million in its Series B investment round led by Target Global in 2021.
