London-based decentralised and tokenised cohort-based learning and on-demand talent platform, Neol has raised $5.2 million in funding. The seed round was co-led by kyu Collective and Global Ventures. Also participating in the round were Learnstart, the seed fund of Learn Capital, FJ Labs, and Paribu Ventures.
It was also backed by iconic designer, Tim Brown, chair of IDEO; Emin Gun Sirer, founder and CEO of Ava Labs, and Sota Nagano, serial unicorn entrepreneur and managing partner at Abies Ventures and Tony Xu, co-founder and CEO of DoorDash and Meta board member.
The funding will be used for product, brand and partnership development. Initially focused on the U.K., Europe and the Middle East, Neol will continue building its network of communities and expand into new markets in the Global South.
According to Brandessence Market Research, the e-learning market was valued at $309.2 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach $1.37 trillion by 2028. The global freelance platforms market size is projected to reach $12 billion by 2028 as per Verified Market Research. Betting big on the opportunity, Neol aims to change the future of learning and creative work by enfranchising creative individuals and innovators from scale-ups, corporations and creative organisations. It is enabled by Web3 to produce more equitable value creation and exchange.
Kerem Alper, co-founder and CEO of Neol said: “Creative individuals are the core to driving meaningful growth in the world. We are building a platform for them to connect, learn and shape while also participating as owners of the very platform they are part of.”
Akar Sumset, co-founder and president of Neol added: “We are providing solutions at the intersection of complex challenges, objectives of purpose-driven scale-ups, corporations and organisations, and the passions of independent creatives. We are excited at our growth prospects and enthused to see our community grow as a cross-disciplinary talent base that connects on skills, passions and vision.
Farah Ramzan Golant, president of kyu, added: “kyu’s purpose is to be a source of creativity which propels the economy and society forward. As we face ever-increasing complexity and volatility in the world, we also see opportunities for creative thinking and collective action to develop new, innovative ways of learning, connecting and collaborating on challenges that truly matter.”
According to the company, it has run eight cohorts with over 600 learners and 200 customers.
Noor Sweid, managing partner at Global Ventures, said: “With 70% of corporates now leveraging on-demand talent platforms and Web3 being the Internet’s next frontier, Neol blends both trends to offer a unique and innovative solution. By enfranchising creatives, Neol's on demand, cohort-based talent platform redefines how companies collaborate. We are firm believers in the potential of the solution to transform the future of learning and work.”
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