Global IT consulting company Accenture has unveiled its latest strategic investment, this time providing money to spatial computing company Talespin. The exact amount of the investment was not disclosed.
Talespin is part of Accenture Ventures’ Project Spotlight, an engagement and investment program that connects emerging technology software startups with the Global 2000 to fill strategic innovation gaps.
Headquartered in Culver City, California and founded in 2015, Talespin’s platform is based on virtual training that combines virtual, augmented, and mixed reality. The investment comes at a time when the World Economic Forum projects that by 2030, over one billion workers will need to be retrained to keep up with industry changes.
Talespin’s platform uses 3D, virtual humans and environments to help people practice conversational skills and simulate jobs with real-time feedback and skills analytics.
Immersive learning, built on Extended Reality (XR) technologies, offers opportunities for employees to participate in “hands-on” learning and has been shown to lead to greater learning retention, according to Accenture.
Accenture Invests In Talespin: Evolving Skillsets
Kyle Jackson, co-founder and chief executive officer, Talespin, commented:
“As the workforce evolves, so do the skills needed to excel and succeed. At the same time, device, computing and connectivity advances are enabling companies to explore new, innovative approaches to learning. We are excited to work with Accenture to further develop our immersive learning platform and accelerate its adoption on a global scale.”
Tom Lounibos, managing director of Accenture Ventures, said:
“Over 90% of executives who responded to a recent Accenture survey believe that their existing training methods need to be more effective and efficient. Yet conventional approaches to training, such as instructor-led classes or online video series, are not always effective; in fact, research shows that learners forget 70 percent of this type of content within 24 hours and nearly 90 percent in a month. The need for engaging, immersive learning is clear, and we believe that Talespin is well-positioned to address this challenge.”
