What Arkhe does

Arkhe (legal entity: SARL Arkhé International) is a French educational technology company founded in 1972 by Daniel Boitaud, a Professeur agrégé de gestion. The company designs and delivers business simulation games (jeux d'entreprise) used to teach management, accounting, marketing, finance, production, HR, and CSR through experiential learning. Its portfolio comprises nine distinct simulations (Bilboket, Kee-shirt, Kalypso, Key Flash, K-watt, Kiwi, Subakoua, Kolumpi, and Kréafirm) segmented by difficulty from high-school introduction to Master/enterprise expert level, covering industries such as artisan manufacturing, restaurants, boat hulls, USB keys, solar panels, diving wetsuits, and soap.

The technical platform is web-based (simulations.arkhe.com) with separate interfaces for players and facilitators (animators). Animators can trigger events, close decisions, influence game parameters based on pedagogical objectives, and monitor team decision-making in real time. Post-animation session data, including accounting documents, market studies, and competitive intelligence, is retained for one year as ongoing training material. The platform was overhauled in 2020 with a new graphic charter and migrated fully online in 2011.

Arkhe sells to higher-education institutions (universities, business schools, IUT, engineering schools), high schools (particularly BTS tracks), and corporate training departments. GTM is sales-led and direct, driven by content marketing, educational conferences, and quote-based pricing. Revenue is generated via a usage-based token model: customers purchase tokens (jetons) corresponding to the number of players and simulation periods, with pricing determined per quote. The company operates from Talence (Bordeaux), France, with a small team of 1-10 employees and serves primarily European markets.

Name

Arkhe

Legal name

SARL Arkhé International

Website

https://arkhe.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Arkhe is a French edtech company founded in 1972 that develops nine web-based business simulation games used by higher-education institutions, business schools, and corporate training departments to teach management through experiential learning, sold via a token-based pricing model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Business Simulation Software

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Serious Games & Simulation Studios (Training, Defense, Enterprise) (MPAFAAAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Simulation, Scenario & Serious Games Design (EDAGAKAH)

Keywords

• Business simulation games
• Management education software
• E-learning simulations
• Experiential learning platform
• Corporate training games

Headquarters

HQ city

Talence

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Token-based Simulation Access: Customers purchase tokens (jetons) to access game sessions. Each session requires tokens for player participation. The number of tokens depends on the number of players and duration of the simulation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Arkhé designs, develops, and delivers web-based business simulation games (jeux d'entreprise) used by educational institutions and corporate training departments to teach management, marketing, accounting, HR, and CSR concepts through experiential learning. Customers purchase tokens to access nine distinct games covering different industries and difficulty levels—from Lyc\u00e9e (Bilboket) to Master 2 (Subakoua, Kolumpi, Kr\u00e9afirm)—delivered via an in-house platform with separate interfaces for players and facilitators.

Product overview

Arkhe is a company specializing in business games (management simulations) for educational and corporate training purposes. The portfolio consists of 9 distinct games (Bilboket, Kee-shirt, Kalypso, Key Flash, K-watt, Kiwi, Subakoua, Kolumpi, and Kréafirm) organized across difficulty levels from high school introduction to Master/enterprise expert level. These simulations are delivered through a web-based platform (simulations.arkhe.com) that provides separate interfaces for players and facilitators, with session data retained for one year post-animation as training material.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Bilboket An introductory business game at the Lycée (high school) level where players manage an artisan ebony workshop that manufactures and sells bilboquets and lamps, teaching fundamental management concepts including products, costs, margins, market shares, balance sheets, and income statements.
• Kee-shirt A beginner-level business game for BTS/1st year students where players manage a company that imports and sells t-shirts in a fair trade context, making decisions from raw material quality to distribution channels.
• Kalypso An intermediate-level business simulation for 2nd-year Licence students where players produce and sell three types of boat hulls, with gameplay heavily dependent on seasonal sales patterns that must inform production strategy.
• Key Flash A Licence-level business game where players manage an industrial company that purchases components to assemble and sell USB keys, covering product range definition, quality, pricing strategy, sales force, and distribution channels.
• K-watt A BUT/Licence/Master level game where players manage an industrial company manufacturing and distributing solar panels, with emphasis on corporate social responsibility (RSE/CSR) including internal RSE (salaries, management structure, training) and external RSE (supplier selection, philanthropy, communication).
• Kiwi A restaurant management simulation for hotel schools, BUT, and Licence-level students where players choose their location, manage rooms and menu, and compete on standing level, with competition based on positioning in terms of service level.
• Subakoua A Master 2/Enterprise level business game where players manage a diving wetsuit manufacturing company with 5 product lines, covering supplier selection, production optimization, quality management, seasonality, and market positioning.
• Kolumpi A Master 2/Engineer/Enterprise level game where players manage a Mediterranean soap manufacturing company (olive or lavender scents) with 6 products across multiple distribution channels, including R&D innovation, marketing mix, HR management, and financial controls.
• Kréafirm A Master/Incubator level business creation simulation set in the diving wetsuit sector, focusing on analyzing financial documents, market studies, supply chain management, strategic purchasing/sales decisions, and team negotiation.
• Arkhé Online Simulation Platform The web-based platform (simulations.arkhe.com) that hosts all nine Arkhé business games with separate accounts for managers, animators (facilitators), and players. Customers purchase tokens tied to number of players and simulation periods; the platform supports session creation, real-time decision monitoring, event triggering by animators, and one-year post-session data access.

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Aliénor.netminorOthersWeb hosting provider located at 375 avenue de Tivoli, 33110 LE BOUSCAT. Hosts the Arkhé website and platform infrastructure.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Cesim: Cesim provides web-based business simulations (Cesim Sim, Global Challenge) used by business schools and corporate trainers worldwide. It is the most direct comparable to Arkhé in target customer (higher-ed and corporate training), delivery model (SaaS, team-based), and product focus (management decision-making simulations).
• Smartsims: Smartsims builds business simulations such as AdSim and Money-Smart, used primarily in business school marketing and finance courses. Directly comparable to Arkhé in deployment context (university business courses), pricing model (per-student or per-class), and product depth (sector-specific simulations).
• Knowledge Matters: Knowledge Matters provides business and marketing simulations (e.g., Virtual Business) widely used in high-school and introductory business courses. Comparable to Arkhé's Bilboket and Kee-shirt games, which target the Lycee/BTS level in France.
• Capsim: Capsim (including Capsim Core Business Simulation and Capsim Inbox) delivers business strategy and management simulations adopted broadly by business schools and corporate L&D in North America. Comparable in product mechanics and customer base to Arkhé's Kolumpi/Kréafirm level games.
• GoVenture: GoVenture produces experiential business and life-skills simulations used in education and corporate training. It is comparable to Arkhé in deploying single-player and team-based simulations for skill development in school and training contexts.
• GLO-BUS: GLO-BUS offers an online business strategy simulation widely used in business schools for strategy and capstone courses. Closely comparable to Arkhé's Kréafirm and Subakoua games in terms of competitive multiplayer mechanics and academic positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Kahoot: Kahoot is a broad edtech platform used in education and corporate training for gamified learning, including business-related content. While not a direct simulation competitor, it competes for the same education budget and facilitator mindshare, and represents a potential consolidator of experiential learning tools.
• Marketplace Simulations (Harvard Business Publishing): Harvard Business Publishing's Marketplace Simulations offers business simulations (e.g., Marketplace, StratSim) with deep penetration in U.S. business schools. It is a much larger and broader incumbent that competes in the same product category with greater content marketing and global reach.

Regional players

• Ennova (European simulation studios): European-based provider of business simulations and learning games used in European business schools and corporate training. Comparable to Arkhé in regional focus and target customer overlap, but does not directly compete head-to-head in France.

Emerging players

• Forio (now part of Stukent): Forio built web-based business simulations and was acquired by Stukent, a digital courseware provider for business education. Comparable as a business-simulation SaaS provider serving higher-ed, now bundled into a broader edtech platform — a useful comparator for Arkhé's platform-and-content model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/arkhe_fr
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/arkhe-international

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Arkhe