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
Inside-the-box thinking: Veteran entrepreneurs craft memory care tools to engage dementia patients
The founders of one of Kansas City’s celebrated small businesses are launching a new solution for dementia care: a curated, monthly subscription box full of themed engagement activities and tools designed to improve patients’ quality of life. Prairie Elder Care’s Michala Gibson and Mandy Shoemaker originated the idea for the Connectivities subscription tool during the…
KC data platform mySidewalk partners with GoDaddy to launch online economic insight tool
A new tool from Kansas City’s mySidewalk and GoDaddy’s Venture Forward research initiative is expected to give local and regional policymakers in the U.S. unprecedented — and direct — access to information on the economic impact of more than 20 million microbusinesses, said Stephen Hardy. “At mySidewalk, we work every day with leaders across the country…
Top emerging business finds its bliss as city uncorks bookstore’s ability to serve wine
A city ordinance change is expected to move one of Kansas City’s only Black-owned bookstores closer to its chilled brick-and-mortar location — popping the cork on Bliss Books & Wine’s ability to serve its namesake beverage once the Midtown storefront opens. “People have been waiting a very long time for this storefront and have been working…
LA game tech startup boosting its KC footprint with 100 new jobs, high-profile downtown HQ
A rapidly expanding gaming technology studio hopes to put approachable blockchain technology in the hands of consumers — and it’s pressing play on a strategy to bring dozens of new jobs to Kansas City and give players, developers, and content creators “true ownership” within the games they love. Based in Sherman Oaks, California, Mythical Games…

