Axonify acquires digital learning platform MLevel

Axonify, a Kitchener-Waterloo startup offering a communications and learning solution for frontline employees, has acquired Atlanta, Georgia-based MLevel. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“We believe this is the perfect time to bring MLevel’s customers, employees and its product prowess into the Axonify family.”
– Carol Leaman

MLevel offers a data-driven digital learning platform targeted to enterprise clients. Axonify said the acquisition is aimed to combine the two companies’ capabilities and bring them to more customers.

Following the deal, MLevel’s employees will work under Axonify, including the majority of MLevel’s leadership. The MLevel platform will continue to operate and be maintained by the Axonify team. With the acquisition, Axonify will be a 200-employee organization and has plans to hire an additional 25 this year.

Founded in 2011, Axonify’s platform is aimed to help frontline employees. Axonify considers these employees to be people working in sectors such as retail and grocery sales, call centres, and distribution warehouses. According to Axonify’s State of Frontline Workplace Training Study, the frontline worker market comprises 2.7 billion people.

Axonify has previously described itself as a “corporate microlearning platform” but in late 2019, began calling itself a “frontline employee training platform.” A spokesperson for the startup told BetaKit Axonify has “always served organizations dedicated to empowering their frontline.”

The startup offers training that delivers personalized, small bursts of learning that can be used while employees are working. This is a type of educational approach known as microlearning. Axonify claims 83 percent of its users log in two to three times a week. More than 160 customers in over 150 countries use Axonify, including employees at Walmart, Levi’s, and Merck.

“From a not-so-far distance, both Axonify and MLevel have watched each other grow in our respective learning niches and have admired each other’s strengths,” said Carol Leaman, CEO and co-founder of Axonify. “As our businesses further aligned, we believe this is the perfect time to bring MLevel’s customers, employees, and its product prowess into the Axonify family.”

In 2016, Axonify raised $27 million USD in funding to help it expand its platform. The round was led by JMI Equity, a growth equity firm focused on investing in software startups, and BDC Capital through its BDC IT Venture Fund.

“By joining a company with significant scale, we will create unrivalled access for organizations seeking a continuous approach to empower their employees,” said Jordan Fladell, CEO and co-founder of MLevel. “MLevel’s main industries served include food service, contact centers, and insurance, as well as retail and financial services, which pairs nicely with Axonify’s core frontline focus.”

Image source Axonify.