What Glo Bus does

GLO-BUS Software, Inc. is a privately held educational software company, incorporated in Alabama, that operates a web-based business simulation platform used in higher-education strategy, management, and capstone courses. Student teams, typically 1-5 members, run a simulated action-cameras and drones company in head-to-head competition across four global regions (North America, Europe-Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America) and 12 market segments, making decisions across Product Design, Marketing, Operations, Finance, and Social Responsibility. The platform is built on HTML5 and JavaScript with proprietary rules-based algorithms that process decision entries after each round and return results in approximately 15-20 minutes; outcomes are deliberately non-AI-driven to preserve integrity against generative-AI cheating.

The company monetizes through per-student registration fees: $44.95 for the Simulation-Only tier and $99.95 for the ValuePak tier (which adds a 12-chapter strategy textbook, chapter quizzes, PowerPoint slides, and 20+ optional cases at $5 each), with instructor access offered free. Its distribution is anchored by an exclusive marketing and distribution partnership with McGraw-Hill Education, which verifies instructor credentials and reaches business school faculties through its academic sales channels. The simulation is authored by a named academic team led by Arthur A. Thompson, Jr. (Professor Emeritus at The University of Alabama). Trailing-12-month reach includes approximately 23,681 students, 1,055 class sections, 222 campus locations across 20 countries, with the company reporting adoption by 400+ institutions and benchmark data spanning 600+ campuses.

The operating model is lean (1-10 employees) with compliance investments in WCAG 2.2 Level AA accessibility (achieved April 29, 2026) and privacy alignment with FERPA, GDPR, and CCPA. Revenue is not publicly disclosed; given the per-student pricing and disclosed engagement, implied gross fees from student registrations are estimated in the low single-digit millions annually, subject to McGraw-Hill distribution economics. No venture or institutional funding has been disclosed.

Name

Glo Bus

Legal name

GLO-BUS Software, Inc.

Website

https://glo-bus.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

GLO-BUS Software is an Alabama-based educational software company that runs a web-based business simulation platform where university and business school student teams compete managing a simulated global action-camera and drone company, distributed through McGraw-Hill Education to instructors worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Business Simulation Software

NAICS

Business Schools and Computer and Management Training (6114), Professional and Management Development Training (61143)

akta.pro primary industry

Simulation, Scenario & Serious Games Design (EDAGAKAH)

Keywords

• Business simulation software
• Educational technology platform
• Strategy simulation games
• Experiential learning tools
• Capstone course simulations

Headquarters

HQ city

Northport

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Student Registration Fees: Per-student registration fees for simulation access. Two pricing tiers: Simulation-Only at $44.95 per student and ValuePak at $99.95 per student. Additional revenue from optional cases at $5 each. Payment collected pre-pay upon account creation and covers the duration of the course.
2. ValuePak Supplementary Content: Additional revenue from strategy textbook content (12 chapters, 280 pages), chapter quizzes, multi-chapter exams, PowerPoint slides, and library of 20+ optional cases bundled in the ValuePak option at $99.95 per student.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

GLO-BUS is a web-based business simulation platform where student teams manage a global action cameras and drones company in head-to-head competition. Participants make strategic decisions across five areas (Product Design, Marketing, Operations, Finance, and Social Responsibility) in four geographic markets (North America, Europe-Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America) over multiple rounds, with proprietary rules-based algorithms processing outcomes in 15-20 minutes. The platform is sold to academic institutions with two per-student pricing tiers: a Simulation-Only option at $44.95 and a ValuePak option at $99.95 that bundles a 12-chapter strategy textbook, quizzes, PowerPoint slides, and optional cases.

Product overview

GLO-BUS is a competition-based strategy simulation platform where student teams manage global technology companies that design, assemble, and market action cameras and UAV drones. The core offering is the GLO-BUS Simulation Platform, which is available in two tiers: the Simulation-Only Option ($44.95/student) providing full simulation access with built-in collaboration tools, quizzes, peer evaluations, automated grading, and performance reporting; and the ValuePak Option ($99.95/student) which adds a Strategy textbook (12 chapters), chapter exercises, quizzes, PowerPoint slides, and optional case studies. The platform operates in 4 geographic regions with 1-5 students per team competing against up to 12 companies per industry.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• GLO-BUS Simulation Platform

Quantifiable outcome

• 20-30 hour student workload per course (2 hours × 10-12 decision rounds)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• McGraw-Hill Education, Inc.coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMcGraw-Hill Education serves as the exclusive marketing and distribution partner for GLO-BUS. They verify instructor credentials when accounts are created and may contact new instructors by phone or email to confirm their academic status. McGraw-Hill's logo appears on the GLO-BUS website footer, and the partnership provides access to McGraw-Hill's established academic distribution channels and business school adoption networks.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cesim: Cesim provides business simulations (Cesim Sim, SimBrand, SimService) used in business schools and corporate training across multiple countries. It is a direct competitor in the business school simulation category with comparable international reach.
• Interpretive Simulations (StratSim): Interpretive Simulations produces StratSim, a family of strategy and marketing simulations widely adopted in business schools. It competes directly with GLO-BUS in strategy and management courses with similar instructor-led, per-student licensing.
• Smartsims (Marketplace): Smartsims builds web-based business simulations like Marketplace, used in undergraduate business strategy courses globally. It targets the same instructor adoption channel and competes for the same per-student course fees as GLO-BUS.
• Capsim: Capsim is one of the most established business strategy simulations used in undergraduate and MBA capstone courses. Like GLO-BUS, it sells per-seat access to instructors and students for head-to-head team-based competition, making it the closest head-to-head competitor.
• Business Strategy Game (BSG): BSG is a long-running internet-based business strategy simulation with global athletic-shoe industry scenarios, directly competing with GLO-BUS for the same business school capstone and strategy course budgets via per-student registrations.

Emerging players

• Forio (now Hubro Simulations): Forio/Hubro builds online business simulations used in business schools and corporate training, often with more customizable scenarios. It overlaps with GLO-BUS in business school adoption but tends to focus on bespoke or instructor-authored simulations.
• Stratx simulations: Stratx provides strategy and marketing simulations for business education with a focus on competitive dynamics. It targets a similar instructor audience and overlaps with GLO-BUS in business school strategy and capstone courses.

Regional players

• Simbound: Simbound offers marketing and business simulations adopted primarily in European and Asian business schools. It is a comparable business-simulation competitor in international markets where GLO-BUS also competes for instructor adoption.

Others

• McGraw-Hill Education: GLO-BUS's exclusive marketing and distribution partner, McGraw-Hill also publishes competing course materials and textbook-bundled content in business education. As a strategic channel partner, McGraw-Hill is the most consequential commercial relationship for GLO-BUS.

Broad incumbents

• Harvard Business Publishing Education: HBP Education offers simulations, cases, and course materials at scale through HBX and HBSP. While not exclusively a simulation company, it competes for the same business school simulation budget through broader content bundles that include simulation options.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Glo Bus