Edtech platform Purlos raises £450k securing seed investments from Ufi Ventures and private investors.

The investment enables Purlos to accelerate its mission to support 5 million learners into education by 2030, improving learning outcomes and transforming lives.

Purlos, the UK’s leading experience management platform for post-16 education today announces the close of a £450k seed round led by Ufi Ventures, bringing the total raised since October 2020 to to £750k. The round includes private investors working at some of the world largest EdTech firms, including the Chief University Operations Officer of 2U.com and the CEO of Bibliu.

Purlos will use this latest funding to accelerate its growth, especially in the UK where students are struggling with the increasing complexity of available courses, and education providers are struggling for resources to engage them effectively.

Student outcomes are tightly linked to engagement, but current methods like email and phone calls don’t work. Today’s learners, young and old alike, are using alternative communication channels, like WhatsApp, to understand whether a course, or in fact an institution, is right for them.

With dropout rates in the first six weeks of term ranging between 5 and 15% in UK Further Education, and 90,000 extra 16-19 year olds forecast to enter the FE market by 2025, it’s critical for institutions which have under-resourced admissions teams to automate and improve engagement with their students whether that’s before, during or after they leave college.

Purlos is helping overcome these challenges in three fundamental ways:

1. By engaging learners through modern communications channels including WhatsApp, the platform enables much more effective engagement with students
2. AI and logic mapping allows Purlos to answer 90% of student queries, providing more timely responses and reducing the workload for clients
3. Unique data analytics allow clients to identify the bottlenecks and pinch points in a learner’s journey, enabling personalised support where and when it is needed.

Working with over 20% of the FE market, Purlos boasts clients from multiple industries including FE colleges, training providers and government organisations. The platform is already supporting more than 200,000 learners and seeing a 400% increase year on year. Purlos has prevented over 5,000 students from dropping out, which equates to over £20 million in potential lost revenue.

Many people drop out from Further Education due to a lack of engagement and support. Purlos connects with prospective students to help them enrol and stay at college, and then records where they go next. This is a game changer for learners, supporting FE with student recruitment targets and destinations insight. Purlos stands out as an organisation that is greatly valued by its extensive FE college client base, for whom it is achieving impressive results. We are delighted to back Purlos in its mission to help more adults thrive in education.

Helen Gironi, Director, Ufi Ventures

Purlos is also developing its destination platform to support improved engagement with learners after they leave colleges. Currently in development is a “benchmarking tool” to compare destinations from across the country, and a job search tool to match local labour market data to colleges and corporate organisations; enabling more students to move into the right job.

With the support of Ufi Ventures and a loyal existing customer base, Purlos will continue to drive better outcomes for learners.