Strigo raises $8 million to help software companies train their customers remotely

Strigo, a platform that helps companies deliver software training to their clients remotely, has raised $8 million in a series A round of funding led by Greycroft and Velvet Sea Ventures. The Israeli startup also said it has tripled its customer base during the COVID-19 crisis.

The pandemic has been a boon for online communication tools like Zoom and Microsoft Teams, as it has forced companies to embrace remote working. These platforms have also gotten a whole new lease on life through applications they were never intended to address, such as dating and virtual social gatherings. But a “one-size fits all” ethos is often a detriment in the technology realm, where specific problems tend to require dedicated tools.

Founded in 2017, Tel Aviv-based Strigo has built a platform that enables software companies to onboard customers and teach them how to use their software. This is something companies have traditionally done in person — sending specialists out to provide time-consuming, resource-intensive training. That approach is now either impossible or fraught with friction, but Strigo’s unified platform allows trainers to communicate, share content, and collaborate in real scenarios involving the software.

“It’s really about providing hands-on training in which customers learn by practicing within actual product environments,” Strigo cofounder and CEO Nevo Peretz told VentureBeat.

Above: Strigo training cloud: One-on-one with attendee panel and dashboard

Strigo can also be used for in-person software training sessions on customers’ own premises since the platform doesn’t rely on local IT teams to facilitate sessions or book dedicated lab spaces. Employees can turn up to a standard meeting room with their laptops and Strigo will enable full access to the software from their browser — no installations required.

Fluid

Strigo had previously raised $2.5 million, and with another $8 million in the bank it’s well-positioned to grab a bigger piece of the $368 billion corporate training market and add to its existing roster of clients, which includes VMWare, Sage, and Docker.

The company is also working on a bunch of new tools over the next year, including “hands-on group collaboration,” which will enable learners to complete assignments as part of a team exercise.

“This will help greatly enrich the training experience, as it allows students to learn from each other through collaborative hands-on sessions, helping drive better knowledge retention while helping trainers manage their sessions more efficiently,” Peretz said.

While it is possible to run training sessions by combining tools and sharing screens, this approach usually involves switching between multiple applications — such as video tools, remote support, and virtual lab platforms.

“The patching together of these tools creates a poor training experience, inability to see the training operation as a whole and identify problems, and it is also difficult to scale,” Peretz added. “With Strigo, students who are working on a lab exercise can call for assistance, and trainers can seamlessly enter the student’s lab, open a one-on-one communication channel, and work together to address the question or issue. This experience mirrors a real classroom, where a trainer can come to a student, look over their shoulder, and work with them.”