Knowledge experience platform secures seven-figure investment

Birmingham-based Talkout has secured a £1m investment from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF) through the MEIF West Midlands Equity Fund managed by Midven, part of the Future Planet Capital Group, and the MEIF Early Stage and Proof of Concept Fund, managed by Mercia Asset Management.

The investment will fund further product development, which includes a rebrand over the next 12 months, enabling Talkout to create up to 40 new roles in sales, engineering, finance and business development.

By expanding the operations and sales customer success teams in Birmingham, the company will continue to grow its blue chip customer base which already includes Halfords and Pets at Home.

With existing learning management systems, companies where most employees are not head office-based are unable to unlock and share the unique knowledge held within their business with all employees. Talkout 's knowledge and experience platform, REELYZE, offers a new category in the learning market to solve this challenge.

At the platform 's heart is a social engine and AI powered learning assistant delivering “conversational learning ” at scale. The platform was created to be mobile-first, built on technology familiar to the Gen Z and Millennial generations that now represent over 80 per cent of modern workforces. It solves the challenges of communication, knowledge retention, learning and wellbeing.

Paul Putman, CEO at Talkout, said: “The whole team at Talkout is extremely proud that both Midven and Mercia have recognised our innovation, the market opportunity the platform creates, and the amazing team that has built the company this far. The investment will allow us to continue to develop and refine the platform and reach out to even more organisations. We believe this new approach to knowledge creation and learning is truly disruptive and will allow Talkout to become a UK tech company that can compete and win globally. ”

Ian Fairclough, investment director at Midven, said: “Midven is delighted to be backing Talkout alongside Mercia. We are backing a proven management who have developed a disruptive mobile first learning platform, addressing the large and growing L&D market. Talkout has already won several blue-chip customers, and this investment will allow for further product market fit refinement to win new business. ”

Pictured: The Talkout and Midven team