Esme Learning Solutions

What Esme Learning Solutions does

Esme Learning Solutions is a Boston-based EdTech company founded in February 2019 that delivers online professional development courses to working professionals and executives through partnerships with top universities. The company serves a hybrid customer base spanning corporate organizations, higher education institutions, and individual learners, with stated reach in over 100 countries. Its go-to-market is sales-led, with course content layered onto a digital platform rather than sold as standalone consumer subscriptions; pricing is not publicly disclosed and the relationship with university partners is described as strategic and co-developmental.

Esme's core offering is the Esme Learning Platform, an online professional development environment that combines credentialed curricula with collaboration and communication tooling. Through its December 2021 acquisition of Riff Analytics, the company integrated a proprietary AI-powered communication platform that performs behavioral analytics on conversational text and group interactions to assess and improve collaboration behaviors and soft skills. The technology stack is therefore a course delivery layer (university-partnered content, B2B distribution) plus an applied AI layer (text-based behavioral analytics, anomaly detection on group interaction patterns, generative AI elements) that surfaces as a differentiator for institutional buyers seeking measurement beyond completion rates.

The business model is B2B with a subscription/recurring revenue character: courses are sold to organizations and higher education institutions for delivery to professionals and executives, with the AI analytics component positioned as part of the institutional bundle rather than as a separately priced consumer product. The company has scaled headcount from 2 founders to 160+ employees and raised a cumulative $38.5 million since inception across a January 2021 round, a December 2021 round, and a February 2022 venture financing from Hercules Capital, while reporting a 500% year-over-year revenue increase as of February 2022 (with no absolute revenue figure disclosed).

Name

Esme Learning Solutions

Website

https://esmelearning.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Esme Learning Solutions is an EdTech company that partners with top universities to deliver AI-augmented online professional development courses to organizations, higher education institutions, and executives globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Professional Development / EdTech

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (61143), Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (611), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

AR-Guided Learning & On-the-Job Performance Support (Step-by-Step Overlays) (EDAFAJAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Institutional & Program Analytics (Enrollment, Retention, Outcomes) (EDAFAFAK)

Keywords

• Online professional development
• AI-powered learning platform
• Behavioral analytics collaboration
• Executive education courses
• Corporate soft skills training

Headquarters

HQ city

Newton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Online professional development courses: B2B model delivering online courses to professionals and executives through university partnerships

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Core offering

Esme Learning Solutions operates an AI-powered online professional development platform that delivers digital education and collaboration tools to organizations and higher education institutions. Through partnerships with top universities, the company offers credentialed courses aimed at professionals and executives, enhanced by AI-driven behavioral analytics (acquired from Riff Analytics) that measure and improve group interaction and soft skills development in virtual learning environments.

Product overview

Esme Learning Solutions operates as an EdTech platform offering online professional development for organizations and higher education institutions. The portfolio consists of the core Esme Learning Platform and the acquired Riff Analytics AI-powered communication platform. Riff Analytics brings AI-driven behavioral analytics capabilities that analyze group interactions and communication patterns to improve soft skills development. The combined entity leverages these AI technologies to deliver digital education and collaboration tools to learners in over 100 countries through partnerships with top universities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Esme Learning Platform AI-powered online professional development platform offering digital education and collaboration tools for organizations, higher education institutions, and the professionals and executives they serve, delivered through partnerships with top universities.
• Riff Analytics AI-powered communication and behavioral analytics platform that analyzes conversational text data to measure and improve group interaction and soft skills development; integrated into the Esme Learning Platform after the 2021 acquisition.

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Riff AnalyticscoreTechnology or Integration · 8 December 2021Esme Learning acquired Riff Analytics, an AI-enabled software company specializing in AI-driven behavioral analytics for collaboration, to enhance its online professional development offerings for organizations and higher education institutions.
• Top UniversitiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEsme Learning partners with top universities to deliver online professional development courses aimed at professionals and executives, with learners in over 100 countries.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• 2U, Inc. 2U partners with top universities to deliver online degree, bootcamp, and executive programs globally; its university-powered online education model is the closest large-scale analog to Esme's GTM.
• Emeritus: Emeritus partners with leading universities to deliver online executive education and professional development courses to working professionals worldwide, a near-identical model to Esme's.
• Coursera: Coursera partners with universities and enterprises to deliver online courses, certificates, and degree programs for professional and executive learners across 100+ countries.
• Degreed: Degreed is an AI-powered learning and skill-development platform for enterprises, focused on upskilling and continuous learning for working professionals — overlapping Esme's corporate L&D focus.
• edX (2U): edX partners with universities and institutions to deliver online courses, professional certificates, and executive programs; the consumer/enterprise reach overlaps with Esme's credentialed online learning model.
• Guild Education: Guild partners with universities and employers to deliver tuition-paid degree and skill programs for working adults, a comparable model of employer-sponsored, university-delivered education.
• Udacity: Udacity delivers online, AI-supported professional and technical training in partnership with enterprises and universities for working professionals seeking career advancement.

Broad incumbents

• Skillsoft: Skillsoft is a long-established enterprise learning platform offering professional development, leadership, and compliance training to large organizations worldwide — a broader incumbent overlap.
• LinkedIn Learning: LinkedIn Learning provides AI-recommended online courses for professional skill development to enterprises and individual professionals; a broad incumbent in the same end-market for soft skills and business training.
• Pluralsight: Pluralsight is an enterprise technology learning platform with AI-driven skill assessment and pathing; overlaps Esme's B2B professional development and analytics-driven learning focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/esme_learning
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/esme-learning-solutions

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors4 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Esme Learning Solutions