Israeli start-up launches ‘co-learning’ hub in London after £5.5M boost

An Israeli start-up specialising in education technology has launched in London this week, after securing millions of pounds in funding from investors last year.

Jolt, which already launched in the United States, offers ‘co-learning classes’ via the Jolt app on subjects such as technology and business, with the company operating a system of “micro campuses” for face-to-face learning.

After raising £5.5m ($7m) from venture capitalists in 2018, it has now opened its first micro campus – aka Jolt Room – by Liverpool Street Station earlier this week.

It received support from Sunday Times Bestselling business author and broadcaster Emma Gannon, and Jolt will launch a second campus in Soho in summer 2019.

Users pay through a monthly gym-type membership programme and learn in groups of 14, using the company’s video-conferencing technology. Many sessions are in Hebrew, with class subjects such as digital strategies, writing content for websites and “customer journey mapping”.

In the pre-launch registration phase, over 1,000 people applied to be approved for this month’s batch of 100 seats, with members including employees from, Google, Facebook and Citi Bank, as well as numerous start-ups.

Dion McKenzie, UK Regional Director of JOLT, commented: “Whether we’re improving people’s understanding of their own career path and interests, simply teaching a new skill or refining a targeted approach to learning, Jolt offers an environment where people can learn from world class experts in a tailored way and get feedback from peers – allowing them to build a valuable professional network outside of work. Employees want and need to constantly develop their skills, and Jolt solves this problem with stackable classes that fit around an individual’s lifestyle”.

In October 2018, Eyal Rabinovich, an early-stage investor at Octopus Ventures, said: “We’re delighted to be supporting Jolt as it brings its campuses to London and look forward to the continued success of the business.”