2023 was a busy year for the corporate training industry: Training providers rushed to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities into their existing offerings (and roll out new AI-powered solutions) in what some have deemed the “AI arms race.” They were also busy developing solutions to meet ongoing business challenges, such as upskilling and reskilling solutions designed to bridge skills gaps and develop a future-ready workforce.
This year, Training Industry predicts that the training function will continue to be seen as a strategic business driver that will help propel organizations through change and into the future.
With 2024 in full swing, let’s take a moment to pause and reflect on the deals that took place during the last quarter of 2023.
Learning Tech
Although AI applications have spurred excitement into the learning technology market, we saw this market segment’s value drop by 3% in 2023 compared to 2022, as organizations have grappled with inflation and an economic recession. That said, there were encouraging signs of growth in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Deals in this segment of the market included:
- 360Learning, a global SaaS learning platform provider, acquired eLamp, an AI-powered skills platform.
- Bleeker Street Group (BSG), a global software holding company, announced the acquisition of Marine Learning Systems, an eLearning technology and services provider.
- Virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) training provider iQ3Connect secured a seed funding round from the NOVA Prime Fund, a venture capital fund created by LG Electronics. The transaction details were not disclosed.
Leadership Training
In the leadership training segment of the market:
- Hyperdive Agile Leadership, an agile management solutions provider, acquired Scaled OKRs, a premier company in objective and key results (OKR) frameworks. In the press release, Stacey Louie, CEO of Hyperdrive Agile Leadership, states, “The acquisition of Scaled OKRs is a testament to our commitment to helping clients outperform their competition through superior agile practices and high-performing teams.”
Compliance
The compliance training segment of the market also saw some activity last quarter. It’s worth noting that, although compliance training has a reputation of being purchased primarily off the shelf, compliance is one of the top subject areas in custom content development solutions.
Here are the compliance training deals we took note of last quarter:
- Safeware, Inc., a provider of protective equipment and solutions, acquired Hazard3, an emergency response training provider.
- Traliant, a compliance training provider, announced the acquisition of Kantola Training Solutions, a provider of harassment prevention and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) training and human resources (HR) compliance.
Learning Services
In the learning services segment of the market:
- ttcInnovations, an L&D staffing partner, announced the acquisition of Dashe & Thomson, Inc., a custom eLearning solutions provider.
Other Deals by Market Segment
IT and Technical Training
- Lumify Group, Australasia’s largest provider of corporate ICT and digital skills training, acquired City Desktop Training, Australia’s leading provider of instructor-led Adobe end user training.
DEI Training
- Workplace Options (WPO), a provider of well-being and mental health solutions, announced the acquisition of The Diversity Movement (TDM), a training and consulting firm focused on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
Workforce Development
- Colibri Group, a professional education company that provides learning solutions to licensed professionals, acquired TRC Healthcare, which offers a pharmacy product suite and continuing education offerings for health care professionals.
Content Development
- Freedom Learning Group and Ease Learning announced a strategic merger of the two eLearning brands. “Over the past several months, it became abundantly clear that we are mission-aligned with complementary services,” said Ease Learning’s Laurie Pulido in the press release. “Separately, we were headed in the same direction. Together we will go further, faster.”
Professional Development
- Cognota announced the acquisition of LearningOperations.com to support the launch of LearnOps 360™, a free job board dedicated to L&D professionals. The job board aims to connect talented individuals in the L&D field with new career opportunities while continuing to support their growth and professional development through the LearnOps community.
Performance Management
- Workleap, an employee experience software company and learning management system (LMS) provider, acquired Pingboard, an HR tech SaaS company.
What are your thoughts on the training market activity we saw last quarter? What market predictions do you have for this year? Email editor@trainingindustry.com to let us know!
