Amsterdam-based Lepaya, a provider of soft skill training that combines both online and offline learning, announced on Monday, September 12, that it has acquired Munich-based vCOACH, a startup that provides virtual training for communication skills improvement.
With this acquisition, Lepaya aims to further grow in new markets as well as strengthen its product offerings. In December 2021, the company had raised €35.5M in a funding round and the acquisition deal is the first step in the acceleration of the company’s growth.
The deal will be announced at ZP Europe, one of the world’s most important HR events.
vCOACH – Everything you need to know
Founded in 2020 by Benjamin Gumpp, Clemens Lechner, Stephanie Mayer, and Tobias Hölzer, vCOACH claims to be the first fully digital soft skill development platform with individual feedback and practice.
The German edtech startup provides AI-powered coaching where users receive immediate feedback on their presentation and communication skills. These are examined using AI to give straight feedback without human interaction. This fast and continuous feedback creates a steep learning curve.
Co-founder Stephanie Mayer says, “Our product and technology have received great feedback from customers and users. But to optimally serve large corporate customers with a holistic solution, we have to think even bigger. Lepaya’s approach and vision fits in perfectly with ours, while offering more skills and methods. We are proud that vCOACH is now part of the Lepaya platform, allowing the technology to continue to grow.”
vCOACH’s co-founder Tobias Hölzer will now lead the AI department at Lepaya.
Aim of this acquisition
Lepaya uses technology to teach staff members and develop their soft and technical skills. People may advance their professions or even retrain by acquiring new skills with the help of a combination of online and offline learning programmes.
This approach to edtech is growing in popularity. Companies such as KPMG, L’Oréal, Takeaway, Mollie, HelloFresh, Flink, and Picnic have now become customers in the Netherlands. In the UK and Germany, Lepaya recently signed Evonik and BCG, as well as several scale-ups.
Lepaya says it responds to the worldwide trend for employees to retrain and acquire skills to adapt to the changes in their work environment. Founders René Janssen and Peter Kuperus expect that this need for upskilling will apply to the vast majority of employees in the coming years. By learning transferable skills, they can increase their productivity and effectiveness in the workplace. The company purposefully offers a blend of online and offline training.
According to Janssen, e-learning on its own is ineffective. “You learn skills by practising, not by reading about them or watching videos. What can be done online and with technology, can be done digitally, but what works better offline should be kept offline.”
“Upskill your workforce to its full potential”
Founded in 2018, Lepaya is a provider of power skills training that combines online and offline learning. The company believes that the right training at the right time and focused on the right skill makes organisations more productive.
The company has built a mobile learning app that allows companies across all industries to tailor training as per employees’ and executives’ needs. The platform combines over 50 soft and hard skill training modules into power skill development programmes, offering learning interventions and real-time data on learner behaviour and impact.
Lepaya’s services are integrated with Microsoft Teams and Slack, reducing classroom time by 50 per cent.
Currently, the company has offices in Amsterdam, Munich, Berlin, London, and Stockholm, and serves its customers worldwide. To date, it has raised €41.5M from investors including Target Global, Mediahuis and Tablomonto.
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