Thrive announces strategic acquisition of Guider, the UK's leading Mentoring and Coaching Platform
Thrive’s first acquisition is set to bridge the skills gap with the world’s first AI-powered, fully integrated learning and mentoring platform.
Thrive, the Sunday Times Top 50 fastest growing learning technology company, today announced its strategic acquisition of Guider, the pioneering AI-powered mentoring and coaching platform, in a multi-million pound deal.
This marks Thrive’s first acquisition to date, a strategic move designed to accelerate the creation of the industry’s first truly seamless and comprehensive learning and mentoring platform. The ecosystem will integrate skills, mentoring, communications and knowledge management, all powered by Thrive’s cutting-edge, all-in-one AI platform.
A new era of integrated learning and mentoring
Founded in 2019, Thrive has rapidly established itself as a leader in the learning technology space, with a remarkable 54% year-over-year increase in annual recurring revenue. Thrive already empowers over 3 million users worldwide, providing innovative, all-in-one learning solutions to a diverse customer base including ASOS, Volvo, Vodafone, Avon, Burger King, and the Scottish Government. This consistent growth highlights the significant demand from businesses for advanced, integrated learning technology.
The acquisition of Guider opens up new markets for Thrive, establishing a strong presence in the rapidly expanding coaching and mentoring sector. Most importantly, it drives innovation, utilising Guider’s experience of working with leading clients such as LVMH, FeverTree, Visa and Ernst & Young, and its cutting-edge technology to integrate with Thrive to provide people-powered upskilling and unlock exciting new possibilities in skills-led mentoring and coaching.
In an AI-driven world where the human element is becoming essential, Guider uses AI for intelligent matching, but it connects colleagues with real, experienced leaders, mentors, and coaches, perfectly complementing Thrive’s digital learning with vital human connection.
This strategic move will bring Guider’s 25 talented employees into the Thrive family, forming a dedicated new tech squad focused on the seamless integration of Guider’s powerful capabilities with Thrive’s existing platform and enhancing the standalone Guider platform.
Elevating mentorship for future-ready organisations
To support this, Thrive is introducing a brand-new suite of Guider Mentoring Programmes, designed to cut mentoring preparation time in half and make it easier than ever for internal experts and coaches. Each AI-recommended programme will come with a complete set of pre- and post-session resources for both mentors and mentees, including preparation guides, conversation prompts and follow-up activities.
Initial topics span leadership, DEI, female empowerment, career coaching, personal branding, impostor syndrome and presenting, with new areas like strategic thinking, navigating career transitions, building confidence, and first-time manager support. These programmes empower organisations to build thriving networks of mentors and SMEs with complete ease, unlocking the full potential of human mentoring at scale.
Guider will continue to operate as a standalone entity, with Thrive committed to significant investment in its Product Roadmap, including the development of new features such as enhanced relationship management, expanding language support to the 80+ languages that Thrive supports, Guru AI, a complete user experience overhaul, a full time accredited Coach on your Account Team and support from an award-winning 24/7 global Support Team.
“This is the moment L&D catches up with how people actually learn. Combining the power of Guider with Thrive, we’re building the world’s first fully integrated learning, comms and mentoring platform, and in doing so, we’re redefining how companies grow their people. This acquisition doesn’t just add functionality, it sets a new benchmark for what the future of workplace development should look like.” said Sean Reddington, CEO and Founder of Thrive.
“Anyone in the L&D space knows Thrive is changing the game and redefining what modern workplace learning looks like. There’s no other provider we’d trust to scale our vision. Together, we’re building something that connects learning to real, human growth, at scale and with impact. Joining forces with Thrive is an incredibly exciting chapter for Guider.” said Nick Ross, CEO and Founder of Guider.
Adam Bartlett appointed Managing Director
This move marks a key appointment for Guider, welcoming Adam Bartlett as Managing Director. With an impressive 11 years contributing to scaling high-growth SaaS businesses such as Axonify, Learning Technologies Group and Sponge and a deep understanding of the learning and development space, Adam’s leadership will be instrumental in accelerating Guider’s vision.
"I’m thrilled to be joining Guider at such a pivotal moment. The opportunity to lead a company that’s redefining mentoring and coaching for household brands such as FeverTree, The FA and LVMH is incredibly exciting. I look forward to working with the talented team to drive immediate impact for Guider’s existing customers and help more organisations unlock the power of mentoring and coaching," said Adam Bartlett, Managing Director of Guider.
About Guider
Founded in 2019, Guider has rapidly established itself as a leader in AI-powered mentoring and coaching software. Headquartered in London, Guider has successfully raised £4 million in Pre-Seed and Seed funding rounds most recently led by Fuel Ventures and boasts an impressive roster of clients, including global brands such as LVMH, FeverTree, Ernst & Young, The FA, and Visa. Guider’s innovative platform has empowered countless organisations to foster a culture of growth and development through structured mentoring and coaching programmes.