HowNow
HowNow is a London-based AI-powered learning and upskilling platform that helps enterprise and mid-market L&D teams map skills, deliver personalised learning inside Slack and Microsoft Teams, and bundle curated content from Skillsoft, MindTools, and Pluralsight within one subscription.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What HowNow does
HowNow is a London-based AI-powered learning and upskilling platform built for enterprise and mid-market L&D and HR teams. The core HowNow Learning Platform combines learning management, content authoring, analytics, and a curated 10,000+ resource content library (HowNow+) with deep native integrations into Slack, Microsoft Teams, Chrome, SharePoint, OneDrive, and HRIS systems, enabling learning in the flow of work. Layered on top are HowNow AI, an AI Skill Graph that maps content to role-based skills frameworks and identifies gaps, and HowNow Guru, an AI coaching agent powered by the customer's own knowledge base. Solutions target onboarding, upskilling and reskilling, compliance, leadership development, and revenue enablement.
Founded in 2016/2017 by Nelson Sivalingam, HowNow has raised over £11.5M across four funding rounds, most recently a £7.5M Series A in February 2025 led by participation from Pearson, Mercia Ventures, and Fuel Ventures. The company operates from London with cross-functional teams in Mumbai, Amsterdam, and the US. HowNow serves more than 10,000 teams and reports that over 1 million people learn on the platform daily, with named customers spanning government (HM Government), transport (Trainline, Hotelplan), technology (TomTom, Crunchyroll, AND Digital, Depop, MiniClip, Forseven, SailGP, Ardoq), financial services (Investec), and retail (FitFlop, So Energy).
HowNow's business model is a subscription-based SaaS model with bundled content, sold primarily through a direct enterprise sales motion (a "Book a demo" CTA on every product page and no public pricing), supplemented by product-led growth through free integrations in Slack, Teams, Chrome, and a mobile app on the Apple App Store. The platform is ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials, and GDPR certified, addressing enterprise and government procurement requirements. Distribution is amplified through strategic content partnerships (Pluralsight, Skillsoft, MindTools) and flagship customer relationships such as AND Digital, while analyst recognition (G2 4.5/5 with multiple 2025 badges, Fosway 9-Grid Core Challenger 2025, Brandon Hall silver awards) supports demand generation in a competitive LXP/LMS market.
HowNow firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- HowNow
- Legal name
- HowNow
- Website
- https://gethownow.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- HowNow is a London-based AI-powered learning and upskilling platform that helps enterprise and mid-market L&D teams map skills, deliver personalised learning inside Slack and Microsoft Teams, and bundle curated content from Skillsoft, MindTools, and Pluralsight within one subscription.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
HowNow industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Learning Experience Platform (Workforce L&D Software)
- NAICS
- Professional and Management Development Training (611430)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- AI Tutoring Systems (Conversational Tutors, Homework Helpers) (EDAFAFAC)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- AI Application Enablement Platforms (Copilot/Agent Frameworks, SDKs) (HDAEANAJ)
Keywords
Where HowNow is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices3 records
Markets served
HowNow business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- SaaS Platform Subscription: Subscription-based SaaS model providing access to the HowNow learning platform, AI skills tools (HowNow AI, Guru AI Coach), integrations, and analytics dashboard. Pricing is bundled with HowNow+ content library access.
- HowNow+ Content Library Add-on: 10,000+ off-the-shelf learning resources from curated providers included within the primary subscription, providing a bundled content-as-a-service layer on top of the platform.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels9 records
HowNow product offering
Product offeringCore offering
HowNow provides an AI-powered learning and upskilling SaaS platform that enables organisations to create, deliver, measure, and manage workforce learning activities. Its offering combines a Learning Experience Platform with AI skills intelligence (HowNow AI), an AI coaching agent (HowNow Guru), a curated 10,000+ content library (HowNow+), and native integrations with Slack, Microsoft Teams, Chrome, and mobile apps, sold to enterprise and mid-market L&D and HR teams.
Product overview
HowNow is an AI-powered learning and upskilling platform providing a unified ecosystem for workforce development. The core HowNow Learning Platform serves as the central hub, integrated with HowNow AI for skills intelligence (mapping, measuring, and filling skills gaps) and HowNow Guru as the AI coaching agent. The platform includes HowNow+ Content Library (10,000+ curated resources from providers like Skillsoft and MindTools), integrated bots for Slack and Microsoft Teams, a Chrome Extension for in-workflow learning, and a Mobile App for on-the-go access. HowNow also offers dedicated solutions for Onboarding, Upskilling & Reskilling, Compliance Training, Leadership Development, and Revenue Enablement. The architecture combines a skills-first approach with AI-powered personalization and integrates seamlessly into the flow of work through collaboration tool extensions.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- HowNow AI: AI-powered skills mapping and assessment tool that helps organizations identify skill gaps and recommend learning content.
- HowNow Guru
- HowNow+
Products and services
- HowNow Learning Platform Central intelligent learning platform that enables organisations to create, deliver, measure, and manage all L&D activities. Includes personalised learning feeds, AI-powered skills mapping, unified search, content authoring with AI, and a comprehensive analytics dashboard. Sold to enterprise and mid-market L&D and HR teams.
- HowNow AI AI-powered skills intelligence engine that maps, measures, and fills skills gaps across organisations. Includes the AI Skill Graph, skills frameworks, skills gap identification, and integration with job market data and industry benchmarks.
- HowNow Guru (AI Coach) AI agent that functions as a personal coach, teaching, coaching, challenging, and adapting to user needs like the best human trainers. Powered by the organisation's own knowledge base, it enables real scenario practice and feedback for skill development.
- HowNow+ Content Library Curated content library featuring over 10,000 off-the-shelf learning resources from trusted providers including Skillsoft, MindTools, and Pluralsight. Content is skills-mapped and included in one subscription, offering courses in cybersecurity, leadership, AI literacy, and compliance training.
- HowNow Mobile App Mobile application enabling users to access learning content on-the-go, including offline learning capabilities, with cross-device synchronisation with web and Slack platforms.
- HowNow Onboarding Solution Automated onboarding solution that helps new employees excel in their roles while reducing administrative burden. Includes preboarding, 30-60-90 day frameworks, and personalised learning paths triggered by milestone dates.
- HowNow Upskilling & Reskilling Solution Solution for measuring, developing, and endorsing skills that drive performance and career development. Includes Focus Skills, skills gap analysis, and integration with role-based proficiency requirements.
- HowNow Compliance Training Solution Compliance training solution featuring easy reporting, automated renewal reminders, and engaging content to ensure organisational compliance requirements are met efficiently.
- HowNow Leadership Development Solution Solution for developing leadership capabilities at all levels, emphasising leadership as a behaviour rather than a title, with resources to nurture leadership wherever managers are in their journey.
- HowNow Revenue Enablement Solution Solution enabling revenue teams to deliver better customer experiences through targeted learning and skill development aligned with sales and customer success objectives.
Quantifiable outcome
- 78% of employees feel confident in their job roles
- +7 more outcomes
Companies that use HowNow
Customer profileNamed customers16 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
HowNow technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
AI capability5 records
Feature7 records
HowNow partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.
- PluralsightcoreHowNow announced a strategic partnership with Pluralsight in August 2025 to integrate Pluralsight's content library — including over 6,500 courses, 3,500+ hands-on labs, and 500+ skill assessments — directly into the HowNow platform. The integration allows HowNow customers to access Pluralsight's technology-specific learning content within their workflow to accelerate tech upskilling at scale. HowNow's CEO Nelson Sivalingam and Pluralsight CEO Erin Gajdalo both commented on the partnership, emphasising continuous learning to address technology skills gaps.
- AND DigitalflagshipAND Digital partnered with HowNow since early 2023 in a three-year partnership delivering measurable business impact: 50% reduction in learning content curation time and 80% reduction in L&D onboarding administration. The partnership enabled AND Digital to centralise knowledge into one accessible platform and reduce employee onboarding from a week-long induction to a single high-impact learning event. AND Digital serves over 10,000 teams across Europe and is one of HowNow's most prominent customer success stories.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights7 records
HowNow competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Learn Amp: Learn Amp is a UK-based LXP targeting mid-market and enterprise L&D teams with skills, engagement and content features — a close direct peer in geography, customer profile and product positioning.
- Looop: Looop is an LXP focused on in-the-flow-of-work learning and AI coaching for frontline and enterprise teams — overlapping directly with HowNow's Guru AI Coach and Slack/Teams-led distribution thesis.
- Degreed: Degreed is a direct LXP/skills intelligence competitor with very similar positioning around skills mapping, learning content aggregation, and AI-driven personalisation for enterprise L&D teams. Closest peer in terms of product narrative.
- 360Learning: 360Learning is a collaborative learning platform for enterprises that blends LMS, authoring and AI-driven skill development — directly comparable to HowNow's combination of content authoring, skills focus and AI features.
- Docebo: Docebo is a publicly-listed enterprise learning platform with overlapping AI, skills, content marketplace and integrations positioning — competing for many of the same enterprise L&D buyers as HowNow.
Broad incumbents
- Cornerstone OnDemand: Cornerstone is a long-established enterprise talent and learning incumbent (now including EdCast) with much broader HCM functionality but overlapping LXP/skills content — competing for the same enterprise L&D budget pool as HowNow.
- Workday Learning: Workday Learning is the learning module inside the Workday HCM suite, typically sold as part of a broader enterprise agreement — a broad incumbent that competes for the same enterprise L&D wallet with bundled distribution advantages.
- Skillsoft: Skillsoft is a global enterprise learning content and platform incumbent and an existing HowNow+ content provider; comparable as an incumbent content + LMS stack competing in the same enterprise L&D budget.
- Udemy Business: Udemy Business is a large enterprise learning content and platform provider serving a similar L&D buyer profile with a much broader content catalogue; comparable as a broad incumbent in enterprise upskilling.
Emerging players
- Sana: Sana is an AI-first learning and knowledge platform with AI assistants for personalised learning — an emerging peer that overlaps with HowNow's Guru AI Coach and AI-driven personalisation thesis.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
HowNow social profiles
Digital presenceHowNow compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
HowNow financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
HowNow leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
HowNow funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds4 records
Investors5 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
HowNow M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about HowNow
What does HowNow do?
HowNow provides an AI-powered learning and upskilling SaaS platform that enables organisations to create, deliver, measure, and manage workforce learning activities. Its offering combines a Learning Experience Platform with AI skills intelligence (HowNow AI), an AI coaching agent (HowNow Guru), a curated 10,000+ content library (HowNow+), and native integrations with Slack, Microsoft Teams, Chrome, and mobile apps, sold to enterprise and mid-market L&D and HR teams.
Is HowNow a public or private company?
HowNow is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was HowNow founded?
HowNow was founded in 2017. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is HowNow based?
HowNow is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does HowNow make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. SaaS Platform Subscription is the primary driver. The others are howNow+ Content Library Add-on.
Who are HowNow's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Learn Amp, Looop, Degreed, 360Learning and Docebo. Broad incumbents are Cornerstone OnDemand, Workday Learning, Skillsoft and Udemy Business. Sana is listed as an emerging player.
Does HowNow have an API?
No public API is recorded for HowNow.
What industry is HowNow in?
HowNow's product category is Learning Experience Platform (Workforce L&D Software). Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAFAFAC, AI Tutoring Systems (Conversational Tutors, Homework Helpers), with a secondary code of HDAEANAJ, AI Application Enablement Platforms (Copilot/Agent Frameworks, SDKs). Its NAICS code is 611430 and its SIC code is 7372.