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EV invests in Caspian Learning Limited

24/03/2005

Colin Willis, Head of Technology Investment, EV (far right) pictured with Chris Branningan, Chief Executive Officer at Caspian Learning (middle) and Simon King of Codeworks, advisors to the company.

EV, the independent venture capital house, has completed an investment in Caspian Learning Limited, a groundbreaking 3D games-based learning company.

The company secured an investment package from the RisingStars Growth Fund and the Coalfields Enterprise Fund, both managed by EV, to develop and market its groundbreaking suite of 3D learning-based applications aimed at the education and corporate training markets. The investment has created an additional twelve jobs and enabled the company to move its software and content development arm to larger premises in St Petersgate, Sunderland and to open a sales headquarters in Manchester Business Park.

Caspian Learning’s applications are unique in that they focus on the psychology of learning, not just the technology that delivers the interface. This ensures maximum engagement from users and increases their ability to memorise, recall and apply subject matter. Caspian employs educational psychologists to ensure that learning methodology of all its applications is sound and then utilises gaming technology, similar to the technology children interact with on a Playstation or Xbox, to produce a highly engaging experience.

Graeme Duncan, Chief Operating Officer at Caspian Learning commented, “Caspian is the only UK supplier of learning applications that are developed by fusing best practice in learning and memory research with the interactive benefits of 3D gaming technology”.

“Our technology allows us to build applications to cover almost any subject area and, as all of our education products are developed with practicing teachers, the outputs are extremely focussed and mapped to the appropriate curriculum. We have also sold our technology to international automotive giants such as Volvo who use it for training their dealers”.

The investment caps an exciting time period for Caspian following a hugely successful appearance at the recent BETT education technology show in London’s Olympia where they were one of the stars of the show, signing numerous application deals and forging strong relationships with many local education authorities.

Colin Willis, Head of Technology Investment at EV, says of the investment, “We were highly impressed with the drive and vision of Chris Brannigan and his team, who have already made great progress with the business and certainly stood out against the other companies we have seen operating in this sector. With new investment from both the Coalfields Enterprise Fund and RisingStars Growth Fund, we firmly believe that this unique e-learning business will make a major impact in the education market”.