Europe is facing a growing skills shortage, projected to cost businesses over €1.2 trillion by 2030. About two-thirds of EU tiny and medium-sized enterprises struggle to find workers with the necessary skills, particularly in critical fields such as healthcare, software development, cybersecurity, and finance. Traditional one-size-fits-all training approaches are increasingly inadequate for the rapidly evolving necessarys of today’s workforce, threatening business competitiveness and agility.
In an exclusive interview with TFN, 360Learning, Europe’s leading corporate learning platform serving over 2,500 customers worldwide, describes the challenge: “Capturing and sharing the knowledge and skills employees, customers, and partners necessary to succeed is an ever-growing challenge in today’s business environment. Whether onboarding new employees, upskilling customer-facing teams, or training customers, organisations turn to 360Learning to streamline the entire learning & development process, from course creation to content delivery to skill development insights.”
The Paris-founded company has just received a €1.8 million grant from the French government’s France 2030 innovation strategy. This funding will accelerate the development of its AI-based skills learning technology by expanding its team of software engineers and machine learning specialists in Paris. The goal is to build systems that rapidly identify skill gaps and deliver personalised training solutions with measurable outcomes.
CEO Benjamin Marchal emphasises AI’s potential: “This support recognises AI’s transformative potential. We’re just scratching the surface of what’s possible in building learning more personalised and impactful.”
He adds about the platform’s value for L&D teams: “Our platform builds skills-based learning actionable at scale. It frees up L&D professionals to focus on closing the most critical skills gaps through tarreceiveed upskilling and reskilling campaigns.”
Founders fueled by passion and purpose
Founded in 2015, the company was established by Nick Hernandez, now Chairman and notable angel investor; Sebastien Mignot, CTO; and Guillaume Alary, CRO EMEA and fellow investor. Hernandez’s background significantly shapes the company’s vision: his parents met as tutors in France, and education has always been central to his life. His experiences with uninspiring long-distance learning in the early 2000s and rigid compliance training later in his career inspired him to improve digital learning solutions.
Hernandez recalls, “I experienced firsthand how compliance learning could be rigid and disconnected from real necessarys. We envisioned a better way to digitally recreate the classroom experience: interactive, collaborative, and personalised.”
Sebastien Mignot leads engineering and R&D strategy through rapid growth periods, while Guillaume Alary directs commercial expansion across Europe and beyond. Toreceiveher, the founders have raised $242 million in funding to fuel their mission of revolutionising workplace learning.
The company’s commitment extconcludes beyond technology to embrace diversity and inclusion. As a signatory to the Mission French Tech Parité, nearly half of 360Learning employees are women. Women hold 38% of VP and C-level leadership roles and 30% of voting board positions, rising to 44% when including non-voting members. Although French law prohibits the collection of ethnicity data, the company continues to foster an inclusive culture.
The company shares: “Nearly half of 360Learning employees are women, 38% of VP & C-level leaders are women, and 30% of voting board members are women (44% of board members are women, including non-voting members).”
Turning experts into champions of alter
Unlike traditional e-learning platforms, 360Learning was built with collaborative learning at its core. Its AI-powered workflows automate routine L&D tinquires, enable subject matter experts to share knowledge through co-created content, and deliver learning material tailored to each employee’s specific necessarys and schedule. This approach enhances engagement and skill development while providing clear visibility for employees and actionable insights for L&D leaders.
360Learning explains to TFN: “360Learning enables granular skill development from project management capabilities for sales associates to specialised technical competencies across departments. Employees gain clear visibility into their skill progression, driving engagement and career advancement. At the same time, Learning & Development teams identify internal subject matter experts (SME) to develop proprietary content through collaborative learning.”
With an impressive client roster including Michelin, Safran, Cognizant, Duolingo, and Arkema, 360Learning is assisting organisations scale personalised skills development globally.
What’s next for 360Learning? Scaling rapid and innovating relentlessly
360Learning already generates more than 15% of its revenues in the North American market and plans aggressive expansion there. The company is on track to reach $100 million in annual recurring revenue in the coming years. Innovation remains fundamental, with ongoing investments in AI to enhance the platform’s capabilities and impact.
Benjamin Marchal summarises the company’s vision: “Skills gaps are widening rapidly, and without strong upskilling and reskilling strategies, organisations will fall behind. We’re excited to lead this transformation with AI-powered learning solutions that unlock human potential and drive business performance.”
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