Hubro Simulations - A Sage resource

What Hubro Simulations - A Sage resource does

Hubro Simulations is a Norwegian edtech company founded in 2013 as a spin-out of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), headquartered in Oslo. The company develops and licenses a suite of seven web-based business simulation games covering business management, marketing (marketing, strategic marketing, and digital marketing), finance, sustainable business, and sustainable marketing. The simulations run in any modern browser with no installation, support 10 to 1,000+ participants per course, and integrate natively with the four dominant higher-education LMS platforms — Canvas, Moodle, Blackboard, and Brightspace — for assignment delivery and grade syncing. The platform is used by 500+ institutions across 40+ countries with 50,000+ active users, including Texas A&M, NTNU, McGill, Erasmus, and SKEMA Business School.

The underlying technology combines a simulation engine that models B2B and B2C manufacturing decisions, financial reports, market data, and (for the sustainability products) ESG metrics, with an AI grading module that evaluates student written assignments in the context of each team's simulation state and surfaces personalized feedback in seconds. All simulations are built on a single cloud architecture, enabling instructor overrides, custom course schedules (3–30 hours), and team-based collaborative play. Hubro has won the Comenius-EduMedia Award, the Learning Technologies Award, and recognition from the International Business Learning Game Competition, and is WCAG 2.2 Level AA conformant across its product line.

Hubro makes money through institutional licensing — primarily annual subscriptions with custom quotes based on institution size and simulation type — to universities, colleges, secondary schools (via exclusive partner Emplo AS in Norway), and corporate-training clients (including a custom digitization engagement with Clarity Advantage Corporation for bank sales training). The company operates a direct enterprise sales motion, a self-serve trial flow for individual instructors, and a reseller/partner program with revenue sharing. In June 2023, Hubro was acquired by Sage Publications, a global academic publisher founded in 1965; Hubro continues to operate as an independent subsidiary under co-founder and CEO Emil Oliver, with product, sales, and marketing based in Oslo.

Name

Hubro Simulations - A Sage resource

Legal name

Hubro Simulations AS

Website

https://hubrosimulations.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hubro Simulations is a Norwegian edtech company that licenses web-based business simulation games covering marketing, finance, business, and sustainability to universities, schools, and corporations across 40+ countries, now operating as a Sage Publications subsidiary.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Technology / Business Simulation Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Simulation-Based Learning & Virtual Labs (EDAGAEAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

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

Keywords

• Business simulation software
• Experiential learning platform
• Educational technology
• LMS integrated simulations
• Corporate training simulations

Headquarters

HQ city

Oslo

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Institution Licensing: Hubro licenses its simulation platform to educational institutions (universities, colleges, secondary schools) and corporations. Institutions purchase licenses for their students/employees, typically at an institutional level rather than individual seat-based pricing.
2. Partner Revenue Sharing: Hubro offers a lucrative revenue sharing agreement to partners who resell or distribute simulations to new learners.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Hubro Simulations develops and licenses a suite of web-based business simulation games used by higher education institutions and corporations to deliver experiential learning. Participants run virtual companies, make decisions on production, marketing, finance and strategy, and see outcomes in a risk-free environment. The platform also includes an AI-powered grading tool and integrates with major Learning Management Systems.

Product overview

Hubro Simulations offers a suite of award-winning online business simulation games designed for higher education and corporate training. The portfolio includes seven distinct simulation products: Hubro Business Simulation (core business management), Hubro Marketing Simulation (marketing strategy and tactics), Hubro Strategic Marketing Simulation (advanced restaurant brand management), Hubro Finance Simulation (corporate finance and investments), Hubro Sustainable Business Simulation (ESG-focused business decisions), Hubro Sustainable Marketing Simulation (sustainable marketing strategies), and Hubro Digital Marketing Simulation (comprehensive digital marketing with SEO, paid search, social media, email, and content). An AI Grading Tool add-on provides automated assessment for written assignments across simulations. All simulations are web-based, require no installation, and integrate with major LMS platforms (Canvas, Moodle, Blackboard, Brightspace). The platform enables experiential learning where participants run virtual companies, make real business decisions, and see consequences in a risk-free environment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hubro Business Simulation Core business simulation where participants run virtual B2B or B2C manufacturing companies, making decisions on production, investments, pricing, financing, and strategy to develop financial literacy and analytical skills; used in higher education and corporate training courses.
• Hubro Marketing Simulation Marketing simulation where students analyze market segments, develop marketing mix strategies, and create products tailored to customer needs while competing against peers or AI-controlled companies.
• Hubro Strategic Marketing Simulation Advanced marketing simulation for MBA and graduate programs where participants manage pizza restaurant brands, conduct market research, handle brand portfolios, and make strategic decisions in a dynamic competitive environment.
• Hubro Finance Simulation Finance simulation where students manage virtual production companies focusing on capital structuring, valuation, dividend strategy, risk assessment, and cash flow management in corporate finance courses.
• Hubro Sustainable Business Simulation Business simulation where participants balance financial sustainability with environmental and social responsibility in B2B manufacturing, incorporating ESG metrics and stakeholder considerations.
• Hubro Sustainable Marketing Simulation Marketing simulation challenging participants to balance profit with environmental and social responsibility while satisfying diverse stakeholders including customers, investors, employees, and society.
• Hubro Digital Marketing Simulation All-in-one digital marketing simulation covering SEO, paid search, social media, email marketing, content creation, and website management with AI tools built in for campaign optimization and grading.
• AI Grading Tool AI-powered automated grading system integrated into business simulations that evaluates student written assignments, provides instant feedback, and generates grades based on rubrics and simulation data context.

Quantifiable outcome

• Average grade in course increased by an entire grade after using Hubro Marketing simulation
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers34 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

AI capability5 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered regional and core.

• Emplo ASregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 August 2023Emplo AS is Hubro's exclusive secondary education partner for Norway. Secondary school customer agreements were transferred to Emplo AS effective August 1, 2023. Contact: Merville Mouho or Benjamin Ryan.
• Clarity Advantage CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClarity Advantage partnered with Hubro to digitize their bestselling sales performance training course for banks. Hubro developed a custom simulation for Clarity Advantage's corporate training clients. Nick Miller, President and Founder, praised Hubro's responsiveness and understanding of their learning needs.
• Canvas LMScoreTechnology or IntegrationNative integration with Canvas LMS for seamless assignment delivery and grade syncing. Part of Hubro's LMS integration ecosystem.
• MoodlecoreTechnology or IntegrationNative integration with Moodle for assignment delivery and grade syncing. Part of Hubro's LMS integration ecosystem.
• Blackboard LMScoreTechnology or IntegrationNative integration with Blackboard for assignment delivery and grade syncing. Part of Hubro's LMS integration ecosystem.
• Brightspace LMScoreTechnology or IntegrationNative integration with Brightspace for assignment delivery and grade syncing. Part of Hubro's LMS integration ecosystem.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Interpretive Simulations: Provider of business strategy and management simulations (StratSim, etc.) for business schools and executive education. Competes with Hubro in business strategy and management courses.
• Smartsims: New Zealand-based provider of business simulations (Markstrat, etc.) widely used in strategic marketing and business school courses. Competes with Hubro's Strategic Marketing and Business simulations.
• Capsim: Long-established US-based provider of business simulations (Capstone, Foundation, etc.) widely adopted in undergraduate business courses. Directly competes with Hubro Business and Finance simulations in higher education.
• Cesim: Nordic (Finnish) business simulation provider serving universities and corporations with business, finance, and marketing simulations. Closely comparable to Hubro in scale, product category, and target customer base.
• Knowledge Matters: Provider of Virtual Business simulations for high schools and colleges, covering retail, fashion, and sports management. Comparable in product type and educational customer base, particularly in secondary schools.

Broad incumbents

• Cengage: Major educational content and technology provider offering simulations, courseware, and LMS-integrated learning tools. Competes with Hubro in digital business education for colleges and universities.
• Wiley (WileyPLUS, zyBooks): Global academic publisher with digital learning platforms including interactive simulations and assessments. Competes with Hubro at the LMS-integrated digital learning layer in higher education.
• Harvard Business Publishing Education: Education arm of Harvard Business Publishing offering Marketplace Simulations alongside cases, courses, and textbooks. A larger, better-capitalized incumbent with bundled offerings that compete with Hubro's simulations.
• McGraw-Hill Education (SIMnet, Connect): Major educational publisher offering integrated simulation and assessment platforms within its broader textbook ecosystem. Competes with Hubro by bundling simulations with course materials at scale.

Emerging players

• GoVenture: Provider of small business and life-skill simulations targeting entrepreneurship education in schools and universities. Smaller-scale competitor with overlapping K-12 and higher-ed use cases.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HubroEdu
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCx6R17L5OpxTJRta1PQVq9A
• Facebookfacebook.com/HubroEdu
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hubro-simulations
• Instagraminstagram.com/hubro.education.larlinger/?hl=en

Compliance3 records

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 Hubro Simulations - A Sage resource