Go1 acquires AI-powered ed-tech Anders Pink

Queensland-based Go1 has this week acquired a UK ed-tech partner for an undisclosed amount to support the development of intelligent, automated recommendations for learning content.

Go1, which last year achieved ‘double unicorn’ status after raising US$100 million in June, will lean on Anders Pink’s expertise in AI in order to help individuals achieve their learning goals by creating targeted content feeds for relevant topics and skills.

According to Logan, Queensland-based ed-tech Go1, Anders Pink will assist in the company’s goal to help organisations and their employees close their skill gaps with curation tools that tap into assets from multiple libraries across the web.

Together, the companies will provide a library of learning content served in a curated, automated and intelligent feed that supports specific learning needs.

Go1 - which counts 10,000 organisations as customers including Microsoft, Amazon, state and federal governments, and numerous small businesses - hopes that through the delivery of timely and relevant content, employees will be more likely to engage and complete courses, and in turn, meet their goals.

According to Go1 co-founder and CEO Andrew Barnes, the two companies have a shared purpose.

“The acquisition accelerates our ability to deliver and discover the world’s best learning content for individuals, teams and organisations, helping them achieve their learning goals,” Barnes said.

“Go1's vision is to engage a billion learners and this represents an important milestone on this journey.”

Speaking to Business News Australia, the co-founder said that Anders Pink would specifically help Go1 users to find the ‘needle in the haystack’ when it comes to locating relevant learning content that matches their skills and roles.

“It’s really helping us double down on our focus on data science, AI and machine learning to help organisations and individuals to take advantage of the depth and breadth of content that we already have,” he said.

Barnes said that Go1 users will start feeling the effects of the merger within the next quarter or two.

Founded in 2014 by CEO Stephen Walsh, director Steve Rayson and Jake Salmon, Anders Pink uses artificial intelligence to curate learning content and tailor programs to the needs of teams - removing the hassle of manual curation that other platforms rely on.

Anders Pink managing director Michelle Hazelton said together the companies will be able to make a bigger impact on education.

“Go1 and Anders Pink have a shared purpose to curate the world’s best learning content, in any learning platform, for the world’s leading organisations,” Hazelton said.

“Through the acquisition, we are gaining the ability to drive greater market impact at significant scale as part of Go1.” 

For Go1, the deal follows a busy 2022, during which the company chalked up north of $100 million in revenue and reached almost 10 million learners. In addition, the company now claims that users complete a course on the site every 1.3 seconds.

The company’s goal is to now increase that level of usage over the course of 2023, and growing organically by bringing more content providers on board and attracting more learners to Go1.

“As we think about the opportunity in front of us - and the Anders Pink team share this view as well - it’s still the beginning,” Barnes said.

“There’s so much more ahead of us in terms of what we think we can achieve, and over the next 12 months we’ll be making sure we can execute on that opportunity.”

To assist in bringing these plans to fruition, Go1 has revealed to Business News Australia the appointment of experienced finance executive Shannon Tatz as CFO of Go1.

Tatz, the former Vice President of finance & investor relations at Klaviyo, will be responsible for driving profitable growth and will be based in Nevada, USA.

“This is something we’re really excited about,” Barnes said.

“As we continue to mature and grow as a business, having new talent on board in addition to our existing finance team and building out our executive team is important.”

Tatz said she felt a 'strong connection' to Go1, and was attracted to the company's mission for learning.

"I also resonated with the company’s goals in encouraging organizations to invest in their employees and how that ROI will be essential for the long-term growth of their business," said Tatz.