Author: IBL News

IBL News | New York

American Fork, Utah–based eLearning Brothers acquired Rehearsal, a video-based practice and coaching platform, for an undisclosed amount.

On the Rehearsal platform, users practice skills with their webcam, submit videos for review, and receive manager feedback or automated scoring powered by AI.

Launched in 2015, Rehearsal has customers such as Paychex, 3M, Stryker, Abbvie, and Takeda, among others., with over 500,000 users.

“Adding Rehearsal to the eLearning Brothers suite of learning technology fills an important need in our L&D offering while also allowing us to expand our footprint in sales enablement,” said Andrew Scivally, CEO for eLearning Brothers.

IBL News | New York

New York City-based collaborative learning SaaS platform 360Learning announced this month the acquisition of Looop, a leading UK LMS, with customers such as Financial Times, Klarna, Monzo, and ASOS.

360Learning said it purchased Looop for $20 million, “in a mixture of cash and shares.”

This is 360Learning‘s first acquisition after it attracted $200M funding to invest in M&A. Its stated goal is to increase penetration in the UK and help reach new audiences across Asia, North & South America, and Europe.

Founded in 2014, Looop claims to be cash flow positive, with an annual growth rate of 100% and a projected ARR of $6.5 million by the end of 2022.

It also achieves high satisfaction ratings on eLearning platforms, including Capterra (4.9/5), G2 (4.9/5), and eLearning Industry (97%).

The company says that its approach is based on harnessing the power of technology to embed learning into people’s workflows instead of taking them out of their day jobs.

IBL News | New York

Cornerstone OnDemand named software industry veteran Himanshu Palsule as CEO and member of the Board of Directors this month.

Former CEO Phil Saunders, joined Cornerstone Founder Adam Miller as senior advisor to the company.

The appointment of Himanshu Palsule — in the picture above — took place two months after Clearlake Capital Group’s $5.2 billion acquisition.

“With his deep industry knowledge, expertise in product and innovation strategy, focus on shaping new markets, and vast experience in inorganic growth acceleration, Mr. Palsule is well qualified to lead the continued growth of Cornerstone,” said the company.

Santa Monica, California-based, 20-years old Cornerstone provides HR tech solutions to 6,000 customers and 75 million users.

In a PR initiative, the company announced several recognitions it received from analyst firms.

Those accolades included its recent skill development platform, Cornerstone Xplor, a competitor to Degreed.

IBL News | New York

The University of Michigan’s (U-M) Board of Regents fired its President, Dr. Mark S. Schlissel — pictured above — this Saturday after he was involved “in an inappropriate relationship with a University employee.” 

“After an investigation, we learned that Dr. Schlissel, over a period of years, used his University email account to communicate with that subordinate in a manner inconsistent with the dignity and reputation of the University,” explained the institution.

The Board named former U-M President Mary Sue Coleman as Interim President. She will serve until a new President is named, expected for this summer.

U-M released Dr. Schlissel’s communications on the university’s website, as well as the letter sent to him. “Messages also demonstrate that you were using official University of Michigan business as a means to pursue and carry out a personal relationship with the subordinate.”

Dr. Schlissel was ordered to return all property “associated” with his presidency and vacate the presidential mansion within 30 days.

IBL News | New York

The Pittsburgh-based ARM Institute announced it will create a virtual reality prototype aimed at upskilling manufacturing workers for robotics and automation jobs. The Office of the Secretary of Defense’s Manufacturing Technology (ManTech) program will provide the funding.

The goal is to offer a prototype by fall 2022 that will give incumbent manufacturing workers the ability to earn knowledge, skill, and ability-based credentials via VR immersion.

For this initiative, ARM Institute will team up with SimInsights Inc., APT Manufacturing Solutions Inc., and IBL Education — the parent company of IBL News media outlet.

These assessments tend to occur on the site of manufacturing and other heavy industry-type environments and without the need to pursue technical school or by taking classes, according to Linda Wood, the ARM Institute’s senior certification manager, who is running the prototype’s development.

“I want everyone who’s working on a robot today to have that same ability without having to find a robot, find a certification program, and be able to take a robot out of production in order to be assessed on it because manufacturers aren’t going to do that,” Wood said.

IBL News | New York

Touro College and University System will move its main campus to 3 Times Square in the heart of Manhattan in January 2023. In this iconic skyscraper, the institution will take eight floors and have its own entrance on the corner of Seventh Avenue and 43rd Street.

This month, Touro College, a 50-year history nonprofit institution in higher-ed and professional education, under Jewish auspices, announced plans to set a new 243,305 square-foot campus in that iconic tower — which is owned and operated by the Rudin Family. The lease is for 30 years.

The move reaffirms Touro’s focus on in-person learning. “After conducting comprehensive surveys and thorough conversations with faculty, staff, and students, we know our community places great value on in-person learning,” said Dr. Alan Kadish, President of the Touro College & University System.

2,000 staff and students will attend class there at 3 Times Square daily.

Seven of Touro’s schools will be housed here: the College of Pharmacy (TCOP), New York School of Career & Applied Studies (NYSCAS), Graduate School of Business (GSB), Graduate School of Education (GSE), Graduate School of Jewish Studies (GSJS), Graduate School of Social Work (GSSW) and Graduate School of Technology (GST).

The school will build a library, academic facilities, laboratories, student lounges, and cafes.

Approximately 19,000 students are currently enrolled in Touro’s schools and divisions. It has 35 campuses and locations in New York, California, Nevada, Illinois, Berlin, Jerusalem, and Moscow.

In parallel to expanding its footprint in Midtown Manhattan, Touro renewed the lease for its TouroCOM Harlem campus at 230 W. 125^th St. for another decade.

3 Times Square was originally constructed as the North American headquarters for Reuters Group PLC in the early 2000s.

IBL News | New York

How far can AI teachers realistically go?

Take a look at one of the latest Silicon Valley initiatives. San Mateo, California–based DeepBrain start-up showed AI capabilities by rendering a presidential candidate. In Seoul, South Korea, an AI-created model, an avatar of a politician — candidate Al Yoon Suk-yeol — draws the attention of the crowds on a big screen.

DeepBrain AI’s human model was the result of hundreds of hours of recorded video used to learn the person’s voice, accent, and gestures. Once the AI Human was trained, the provided script was pronounced as the actual person.

AI speech synthesis, video synthesis, and natural language processing technology result in time and cost reduction as there is no need to record a real persona every time video content is made.

DeepTrain AI said that “even depending on how it is taught, real-time communication with people is also possible.”

Various industries are seeing AI humans increase.

— In broadcasting, AI anchors and announcers can conduct news.

— In retail, last August, a 7-Eleven convenience store displayed an AI human answering questions about promotions, events, and nearing information.

— In the financial industry, AI bankers are already active. KB Bank has introduced kiosks where AI bankers appear on screens in offline branches. They only work on basic operations for now.

— In education, Kyowon, in October, launched a digital education platform called ‘AiCANDO’, where ‘AI Tutor’ appeared.

In addition, the AI Human of popular YouTuber Dottie appears to help with learning.

DeepBrain AI, specializing in deep learning-based video synthesis and voice synthesis source technology, claims its technology can be implemented as an AI announcer, AI anchor, AI banker, AI tutor, AI show host, AI kiosk, AI video consultation, AI concierge, AI doctor, and AI lawyer.
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