Modal raises $25 million to train corporate employees in data and artificial intelligence

A few years ago, Darren Shimkus, former head of Udemy, had a conversation with Dennis Yang about skill building.

Shimkus believed that building skills in the corporate sector was a difficult, but not insurmountable, challenge – one that could perhaps be solved with the right technology. He brought the matter up with Yang, who was the CEO of Udemy.

“At Udemy, Yang and I have solved the problem of ‘access’ to learning — anyone at any company can find great video content about the skills they want to gain,” Shimkus told TechCrunch. “But it turns out that solving the issue of video access is not enough on its own.”

One thing led to another, and soon Shimkus and Yang had a new startup: conditional.

Modal provides personalized technical skills training to company employees, offering on-demand training and a pedagogical approach that brings users together in semi-structured online learning communities.

“Our offering assesses each team member, identifies gaps in their skill sets, and creates a customized plan for each team member that reduces the ‘skills risk’ that companies face in achieving their strategic goals,” Shimkus explained. “We support all kinds of goals — modernization efforts, digital transformation, and even training new employees through an acquisition.”

The upskilling market is a crowded space, occupied by startups like GrowthSpace, Learnsoft, Pollen, Scaler, Workera, and others. So how does Modal plan to make a big splash?

First, Shimkus says, by focusing on popular trends: data and artificial intelligence. Modal’s initial range of e-learning courses focuses exclusively on these matters, which seems like a wise strategic choice given today’s market.

“The emergence of AI provides greater visibility to data teams than ever before,” Shimkus said. “Expectations have gone through the roof, and many teams are realizing that they need to rapidly develop their AI capabilities, broad technical acumen, and even the business skills of their teams.”

The second advantage of Modal is its focus on real-world application, Shimkus emphasizes. As learners make their way through Modal courses, the instructor they are paired with helps set context and assist with key concepts, Shimkus says.

“From a learner’s perspective, our inclusion of hands-on practice and training really sets us apart from traditional e-learning platforms,” Shimkus continued. “We believe our direct competitors are relatively few.”

This seems to be an effective sales pitch. Modal, which charges companies only when an employee completes the course, has more than 100 clients right now, most of them from the Fortune 1000, according to Shimkus.

Modal recently raised $25 million in a funding round led by Left Lane Capital, bringing the total amount raised to $32 million. It now plans to grow its team “to support inbound demand and expand Modal’s offerings to enterprises around the world.”

“We’ve been fortunate that the advent of generative AI has created a critical need for upskilling in companies — no one can afford to miss the opportunity to transform their teams and businesses,” Shimkus said. “In today’s ever-changing business environment, it’s difficult to predict what your team needs, which means most leaders don’t have a reliable way to plan for and improve their team’s skills. Modal is designed for this scenario.