SafetyCulture deepens its COVID response with $29M acquisition of ‘micro-learning’ app
September 16, 2020 | Startland News Staff
An Australian startup with a significant presence in Kansas City has acquired a mobile training app to boost COVID-era education for businesses through free “micro-learning” resources.
“We’re experiencing the biggest workplace shake-up since economies were rebuilt after World War II. This is not survival of the fittest, this is survival of those that can adapt,” said Luke Anear, CEO of SafetyCulture, detailing how folding in EdApp’s technology is the next step for the company. “The pandemic has made it clear there’s a huge appetite for training as companies look to get safely back to business. EdApp will strengthen our ability to support businesses to do their best work.”
EdApp offers micro lessons downloaded straight to users’ smartphones. Learners acquire knowledge in targeted bursts when it suits them best and can learn at their own pace, according to SafetyCulture, which boasts a Crossroads-based second headquarters in Kansas City. Courses that employ micro elearning typically see completion rates rise from as low as 15 percent to about 90 percent and beyond, the company said in a press release. The app currently delivers about 50,000 lessons per day across more than 90 countries.
Click here to learn more about EdApp, which hails from New York City.
SafetyCulture’s $29 million acquisition of EdApp comes as the Sydney, Australia-born workplace safety and quality platform dedicates its 2020 to helping businesses navigate reopening amid new safety restrictions, Anear said.
In response to COVID-19, SafetyCulture digitized workplace guidance from governments and leading industry bodies across the world into free, ready to use and customizable checklists via its iAuditor app — which already has more than 75,000 users at more than 26,000 organizations.
Click here to learn more about iAuditor.

2020 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
It’s OK to open with joy: How two moms’ dreams just launched twin shops on Brookside-Waldo border
Two women, longtime friends, have similar entrepreneur origin stories. Now they have side-by-side shops in a bustling neighborhood shopping district. The twin storefronts — Bramble & Stem led by Katherine (Brambl) Taylor; and Blue Sky Art + Home from hometown artist Leslie Beck — come as the mothers-turned-business owners pivot from freelancing to full-time entrepreneurship.…
Tiki Taco plans to double its restaurant count in 2025, starting at one busy Olathe corner
A rapidly scaling taco spot with a trio of locations across the metro is adding an Olathe restaurant this March. Four more Kansas City-area eateries are already in the works with the partners at Tiki Taco hungry for regional expansion — even if it isn’t yet on the table. “I’m stoked,” said Richard Wiles, one…
$11.2M+ awarded: 53 orgs tapped for first-ever tranche of Kauffman capacity building grants
A new grantmaking strategy from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is manifesting through an inaugural round of funding to local and outside organizations whose work supports the priorities of college access and completion, workforce and career development, and entrepreneurship. The Kauffman Foundation on Monday announced its first tranche of grants — totaling more than $11.2…
Kansas City company becomes the gameday go-to collaborator for celebrity-jammed events
Teaming up with the Eighty-Seven and Running Foundation for events — like the recent Kelce Car Jam in the Crossroads — is an incredible opportunity for Kansas City’s Platinum XP to showcase its capabilities and build a reputation as a top creative collaborator, said Lauren Rios. “Platinum XP has the opportunity to work with many…

