Australian-born Acorn has raised $16.8 million in Series A funding to accelerate its AI-native performance and learning management system. The round was led by Level Equity and will support Acorn’s global expansion, product development, and strategic partnerships.
As part of the announcement, Acorn also launched Capabilities AI, a tool that automates the creation of role-specific development plans—mapping internal capability frameworks to job descriptions in minutes.
“Acorn’s focus on business-specific capabilities over generic skills gives organizations a clear path to driving employee impact,” said Charles Chen, Partner at Level Equity. “We’re proud to back a category-defining platform transforming workplace performance.”
Acorn’s PLMS platform includes a proprietary library of 1,600 capabilities and over 4,800 proficiency levels. It enables HR and L&D leaders to create clear career pathways, facilitate better performance conversations, and tie learning to business strategy.
“Corporate learning has been broken for too long,” said Blake Proberts, Acorn CEO. “By building AI-driven capability frameworks and mapping relevant content, we turn passive training into strategic development.”
Acorn’s expansion into North America is being led by Vancouver-based President Keith Metcalfe, who joined the company in 2023.
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