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
Cassie Taylor is just getting queerer and weirder (and thanks to a wild 72 hours, she’s now a Playboy Bunny)
Be your authentic self, said Cassie Taylor, even if that means losing people along the way. “The biggest thing I’ve learned in the music industry is that if you’re not authentic, it is not sustainable — you’ll burn out fast. During the pandemic, I lost a lot of friends because I was very vocal about…
Pitch contest winners salute PHKC as fourth cohort wraps; $15K in prizes awarded to small businesses
A winning night at The Porter House KC’s pitch event this week expands opportunity for more than just the company taking home the biggest check, said Taylor Burris. AI Hub — led by Burris and her husband, James Spikes — earned first place and $8,000 in the competition, which also marked the completion of PHKC’s…
KCRise Fund closes $34M Fund III with ‘hyper-local’ focus; Here are its first four investments
A third venture capital fund — expected to invest $34 million in 20 more tech startups across the Kansas City region — builds on KCRise Fund’s thesis that high-growth local companies are the key to investor success, said Ed Frindt. It’s a competitive advantage that swells with each wave of funding, he added, announcing the…
These makers and vendors aren’t buying the scarcity mindset: ‘There’s a way for us all to eat’
A new vendor fair aims to unite people from all corners of the city and promote collaboration among the local vendor community, said entrepreneur and event organizer Dontavious Young. “I see a lot of events in Kansas City that are geared toward a specific type of crowd, or a specific type of culture, or a…

