Global education company Kaplan acquires Sydney-based AI startup Red Marker

Global education and corporate solutions platform Kaplan has announced the acquisition of Sydney-based artificial intelligence (AI) startup Red Marker, with the deal to see the company onboard Red Marker’s AI compliance technology.

The Florida-based company, which offers online finance and real-estate courses in addition to professional business development advice, had been working beside Red Marker prior to the acquisition in order to expand the startup’s AI solution, Artemis.

Designed for financial advisors and digital marketing, Artemis detects any compliance risks when content is created for promoting financial products or services, meaning advisors are able to quickly identify any potential legality issues.

The technology also has a machine learning feature, where it’s able to grow its algorithm after dealing with new content and compliance measures.

Rob Regan, Kaplan’s Australia and New Zealand Managing Director, said the acquisition will enable the company to expand its corporate solutions offerings with compliance solutions using Red Marker’s AI.

“By enabling advisers to confidently embrace compliance, it will allow them to continually increase their knowledge in a reportable manner,” he said.

“Adding Red Marker to the Kaplan portfolio will accelerate the development of personalised and adaptive learning engines in the financial services sector. We are investing in real-time learning with the aim of further equipping advisers with the tools they need to maximise their success in a rapidly changing landscape.”

Speaking about the acquisition, Brian Knight, Australia’s CEO of Kaplan’s educational branch Kaplan Professional, described the machine learning AI as “a game changer” in helping inform educational training and industry compliance professionals.

“AI will revolutionise education and it will empower our clients to find ways to ensure their advisers can provide trusted and reliable advice now and into the future,” said Knight.

Matt Symons, Red Marker’s Managing Director, added that he is excited to combine the global potential of Kaplan’s educational assets and services with the AI technology, as it marks a step towards the startups goal of improving educational outcomes and reducing financial risk.

“Our clients are really enthusiastic about Artemis. It shows real-time training delivered when learners need it most is the future of professional education in Australia and around the world,” said Symons.

Using AI to help improve education is an area Australian startups appear to be looking towards, with last year seeing Australian entrepreneur Dale Beaumont developing BRiN, an educational app for small businesses which uses AI and machine learning to crunch user data and improve its offering.

To help educate employees about potential risks in their projects, last year also saw Australian startup Stratejos emerge to develop a predictive AI that could be plugged into project management softwares.

The exact terms or amount of the acquisition were not disclosed, although Red Marker staff will be continuing on with their work.

Image: Matt Symons. Source: The Australian.