Brisbane unicorn Go1 seals deal for European tech firm

A Brisbane tech firm started in a garage and now valued at more than $1bn is spreading its wings internationally, announcing a deal to buy a European-based education platform.

Go1 co-founders Chris Eigeland, Vu Tran, Chris Hood, and Andrew Barnes. Picture: Liam Kidston.

BRISBANE unicorn Go1 has acquired European corporate learning and content library Coorpacademy. Go1 chief executive Andrew Barnes says that with offices in France and Switzerland, Coorpacademy will support Go1’s growth plans across Europe.

Barnes says the acquisition “moves the needle closer” to Go1’s goal of reaching one billion learners globally. “As we continue to scale globally, we plan to focus on expansion in the US and Europe,” Barnes says.

The price tag on the acquisition was not disclosed but is believed to be Go1’s biggest deal to date. Go1, started in a Brisbane garage by Barnes, Vu Tran, Chris Eigeland, and Chris Hood in 2015, last year attracted $US200m in funding from investors including Japan’s Softbank.

The company currently has about 200 employees, providing online learning material to more than 3.5 million people at more than 1,600 organisations worldwide.

Go1 has seen demand for online learning ramp up as the pandemic drove consumers online and companies needed people with the right skills to rapidly develop and deploy digital experiences for their customers.

“Even before the pandemic, the sector was growing at 20 per cent each year, but Covid has reinforced the awareness of training,” Barnes says.

He says Go1 will always retain its headquarters in Brisbane, a city that had provided a great lifestyle and business environment for start-ups.

Go1 co-founders Chris Eigeland, Vu Tran, Chris Hood, and Andrew Barnes. Picture: Liam Kidston.

HEALING HEARTS

PRIVATE equity group HEAL Partners, backed by Brisbane richlisters Cathie Reid and Stuart Giles, is getting behind Singapore firm Us2.ai’s innovative fight against heart disease.

Heal is co-leading a US$15m funding round for the company alongside IHH Healthcare. Reid explains that Us2’s software automatically processes echocardiographic images in less than two minutes to provide early detection of heart disease.

“Heal is delighted to support the mission to automate the fight against cardiovascular disease, the world’s number one killer,” Reid says. “We look forward to helping it reach its potential for global scale.”

Reid and Giles this year walked away with a $125m payday after selling the remaining stake in the health care giant Icon Group they founded in Brisbane a decade ago.

The are now focused on their investments in health and technology through HEAL Partners with stakes in tattoo removal business Removery, Edge Early Learning and The Fertility Partners.

Stuart Giles and Cathie Reid

POWER HIRES

BRISBANE electric vehicle charging company Tritium is beefing up its international operations with the hiring of new senior executives.

Tritium chief executive Jane Hunter says the key hires in the US and UK will expand the company’s leadership team to help meet its goal of becoming the number one fast charging manufacturer in the world.

Hunter says David Nicholl, a former executive at Schneider Electric and ABB, will join the company as UK-based chief sales officer.

Keith Hutchison has been appointed as chief people officer based in Boston while Michael Collins joins as general counsel and company secretary working from Phoenix, Arizona.

Hunter says the appointments are critical building blocks in the growth of Tritium, which has already had a big year.

Tritium announced in February it will build a giant factory in the US as the world’s biggest economy moves to decarbonise its transport network. Tritium will open a factory in Lebanon, Tennessee, capable of producing up to 30,000 charging stations a year, backing President Joe Biden’s ambitions to create a national network of chargers. President Biden personally praised the investment by Tritium at a press conference at the White House alongside Hunter.

Tritium CEO Jane Hunter at the White House in February.