Dublin-based CX Academy raises €1.5m in funding

Dublin-headquartered The CX Academy, which provides online Customer Experience (CX) learning and certification, has raised €1.5m of new funding.

The EIIS Innovation Fund, which is managed by Quintas Capital, is investing €1m with the rest of the funds coming from existing investors.

Over the last five years, the company has trained over 5,000 customer experience practitioners across 1,500 leading brands and from over 90 countries.

Its clients include Oracle, Mercedes Benz, Waitrose, Sky, DHL and Lloyds Bank.

The CX Academy was established by CX expert Michael Killeen and online specialist Julian Douglas in 2019. The company has been supported by Enterprise Ireland from its formation and now employs 11 people and supports five contractors.

It said that customer experience training is one of the fastest growing sectors in online education meeting a huge need for real in-demand skills.

The CX Academy provides online courses and university credit-rated qualifications to all levels of staff from CX directors to frontline employees.

The company been supported over the last five years by Enterprise Ireland through its High Potential Startup Unit (HPSU). The agency is continuing its investment along with a number of other existing investors including edtech entrepreneur Anthony Quigley.

Julian Douglas, The CX Academy chief executive, said the fundraising, which was negotiated by Brian McDonald from Bay Advisory, is happening at a very exciting time not just for the company but for the CX sector as a whole.

He believes rapid developments in AI are set to have a major impact on customer experience delivery.

“The success of our latest round of fundraising will enable us to fund our ambitious expansion plans and will help us to grow our revenue, particularly through increased marketing and future course development. We will also be investing in the recruitment of five senior executives and those new hires will enable us to meet our growth targets,” the CEO added.

Brian Devine, from The EIIS Innovation Fund, said they were delighted to support an Irish company with such a strong track record and huge growth potential.

“In a short time, The CX Academy has set the global standard for certified customer experience qualifications,” he said.

“The success of the latest round of fundraising has been based on the quality of its courses and lecturers and its ability to adapt and meet the demands of CX professionals all over the world. Of course, the vastly experienced management team and the fact that it has been profitable since start-up – an unusual claim to fame these day – were also key factors,” he said.

“Currently 95% of The CX Academy’s turnover is generated abroad and we believe the company is ideally placed to tap into the global CX online education market and grow its market share in the coming years,” he added.

Donnchadh Cullinan, Head of ICT High Potential Start-Ups with Enterprise Ireland, said the agency is committed to supporting Irish companies to grow and scale, and to achieve their global ambition.

“The global market for online CX education is continuously changing, leading to an increased demand internationally. The CX Academy team is driving change and delivering unique solutions to the market and Enterprise Ireland is proud to continue to support them as they continue on their journey,” he added.