Israeli AI-tech startup Juno Journey raises $19M in funding to boost employees’ professional development

After enduring 17 months of working from home due to a coronavirus pandemic, many employees no longer get involved in office settings and miss out on face-to-face mentoring and social interactions which are vital to their mental and personal growth. Now, one startup wants to change that.

Enter Juno Journey, a Herzliya, Israel-based AI startup that helps companies to boost their employees’ professional development. Through its AI-based Employee Development Platform, Juno connects employees’ development with their company needs through one journey of learning and development.

Today, Juno announced that it has raised $19 million in Series A funding in its first institutional funding round to expand and accelerate its activities in global markets, particularly in the United States. The round was led by Insight Partners, a leading global venture capital and private equity firm, with participation from VC Cerca and existing investor 10D Ventures. The startup, which currently has 30 employees, will also use the fresh capital infusion to double employee headcount by the end of 2021.

Founded in 2019 by CEO Dor Nachshoni, CTO Ofer Ben Attar, VP R&D Yehonatan Korach, and COO Jeremie Israel, Juno Journey’s platform is used by leading global companies and organizations, including Monday.com, Trax Retail, 888 Holdings, Cellebrite, Kaltura, and others.

The personal development of employees has become a key focus for organizations, both large and small, and is an inseparable component of their long-term talent retention efforts. In a labor market that is more competitive than ever, employees have new expectations from their employers; they are seeking an environment that will enable them to grow professionally and personally, accumulate relevant knowledge and experience and learn essential skills.

A PwC report found that 79% of CEOs worldwide are concerned that the lack of essential skills in their workforce is threatening the future growth of their organization. According to LinkedIn’s [2020] Workplace Learning Report, 94% of employees would remain with their current employer for longer if their organization invested in their career development.

In addition, the number of tools, systems, and professional skills required of the average employee has increased greatly. Therefore, organizations must maintain an infrastructure that will enable their employees to learn and flourish based on their personal profiles.

Juno Journey’s platform customizes the learning and personal development experience for each employee by mapping their skills and providing employees access to relevant intra-organizational knowledge through a combination of courses, articles, podcasts, and materials from top external content providers. The Juno Journey platform combines LMS (learning management system), LXP (learning experience platform) and career path management for each employee, interfacing with all of an organization’s existing tools for professional development.

Through the Juno Journey platform, employees can prepare for new professional and personal challenges, deepen their fields of interest, and conduct open communication with their organization. This allows companies to improve employee satisfaction, increase commitment to the workplace, and retain quality workers.

Dor Nachshoni, Juno Journey co-founder and CEO, says: “Employees’ personal development is more than just an organizational approach – rather, it’s a vital effort to maintain and attract the best global talent. Juno Journey’s technology can create innovative, comprehensive, and personally tailored solutions to ensure that as companies grow, their employees grow along with them.