IXL Learning Acquires Emmersion, Developer of AI-Powered Language Assessments

IXL Learning, developer of personalized learning products used by millions of people worldwide, announced it has acquired Emmersion, the Utah-based leader in certifying language ability through artificial intelligence. Emmersion’s platform has conducted millions of automated assessments for corporate and educational institutions, including The World Bank, Randstad, Columbia University, Brown University and the University of Pennsylvania, providing valuable data insights into language proficiency scores.

The acquisition of Emmersion deepens IXL Learning’s line of language and literacy products, which include the world-renowned Rosetta Stone, IXL English Language Arts, Vocabulary.com, SpanishDict, inglés.com and Fluencia. Emmersion’s cofounders, Brigham Tomco and Dr. Jacob Burdis, will remain with the company.

Recommended AI News: Connectbase to Power Nctc’s Connectivity Exchange Platform

Accurately establish language skills with AI

Emmersion’s adaptive assessments evaluate and certify speaking, writing and reading abilities, which shorten an organization’s time-to-hire and improve customer satisfaction scores.

Its AI-powered Speaking and Writing Assessments conduct reliable, pre-employment language screenings in 15 minutes so that companies can hire the perfect candidates for the right roles. The verbal exam is the world’s first fully automated speaking assessment and covers nine languages, including English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Mandarin, Portuguese and Tagalog.

The Speaking and Writing Assessments are scored using Emmersion’s proprietary 100-point scale, TrueNorth, which gives organizations unparalleled insights into test-takers’ language skills. Additionally, each assessment uses AI to deliver accurate, bias-free scores that are mapped to global language standards, such as CEFR, ACTFL and TOEFL.

Recommended AI News: Teralytics Boosts North American Presence and Global Reach through the Acquisition of Streetlytics from Bentley Systems

Guide student learning with confidence

Educational institutions use WebCAPE, Emmersion’s adaptive placement exam, to measure learners’ reading, grammar and listening skills. The multiple-choice test takes only 15-30 minutes to complete and can assess learners’ abilities in seven languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Mandarin and Russian.

“Emmersion’s adaptive technology and automated exams are unrivaled,” said Paul Mishkin, CEO of IXL Learning. “The Emmersion team will be a valuable addition to our family and we expect to make more investments in the company as we expand to additional languages and capabilities.”

“Emmersion has striven to close the global communication gap through exceptional services that assess employees, check academic knowledge and certify language abilities. Joining IXL Learning is an incredible opportunity to continue advancing our mission and perfecting our products,” said Brigham Tomco, CEO of Emmersion. “Our companies share the same ambitious vision for helping people build and evaluate their language skills, and we can’t wait to contribute our expertise to this new venture.”

Recommended AI News: Omaha-Based Startup Workshop Raises $5 Million to Streamline Internal Email and Communications

[To share your insights with us, please write to sghosh@martechseries.com]