5 ways Thrive is changing the rules of L&D tech

Author: Cassie Gasson, Thrive Learning

The all-in-one, AI-powered LMS that’s putting learner engagement, personalisation, and real business impact at the heart of workplace learning.

90% of L&D professionals say learner engagement is the most important feature in an LMS.

Yet, most learning platforms are still falling short.

Back in 2019 Thrive redefined what a learning platform could be – and six years later, innovation and learner engagement are still top of the agenda.

Always iterating, always evolving, Thrive’s AI-powered LMS has rewritten the definition of workplace learning for organisations like Ann Summers, The AA, and Bally’s – producing results like a 10% increase in sales, 75% customer growth, and a 37% average cost reduction in learning per hour.

So, what does a learning platform that delivers these results actually look like in practice?

With 450+ customers, a newly launched AI assistant (Kiki, which has already been adopted by 75% of  customers) and more revenue generated in the first half of 2025 than the whole of last year, it’s no surprise that Thrive is nominated for EdTech Company of the Year in the 2025 UK Business Awards.

Here’s why we think Thrive is nominated, and how we’re changing the rules of L&D tech. 

1. Making learning feel like a destination, not a chore

Long gone are the days when learning platforms felt like a clunky, useless cog in the otherwise smooth-running machine of your tech stack. The expectation has changed. LMSs need to fit seamlessly in with your workflows, and feel like a desirable destination for your learners rather than a chore to be ticked off their ‘To-Do’ list.

Your LMS shouldn’t be somewhere that content goes to die; it should be where learning comes to life.

Designed for engagement, Thrive has shifted the stale perception around learning platforms by bringing together learning, comms, and social features in a single space where learners actually want to spend time. The platform is purposefully built to feel as intuitive and engaging as the social media and content platforms people use every day. Think YouTube, Instagram, or Netflix — content-first experiences that captivate users by putting their attention front and centre.

2. Giving employees the mic

In a time when the internet is flooded with organic, user generated content – and received by an audience whose eyes are ever-sharpened to disingenuous or sponsored reviews – authenticity is key. The old mindset (“Learning content must be top-down, and centrally controlled”) doesn’t have a seat at the table in 2025. Your end users, the learners themselves, are your number one content creators.

Give your employees the mic. That’s the concept that Thrive has always championed, and continues to build on in 2025. With an emphasis on putting the learning back in the hands of the users, Thrive’s user generated content and social features allow anyone from within your organisation to contribute.

Take Thrive customer DECIEM. Fully embracing the “Tik-Tok-ification” of skincare education, they positioned their learners as Subject Matter Experts and encouraged them to share knowledge and content about DECIEM products within the Thrive platform. This “learners as teachers” approach has been so successful that their platform is now made up of 53% user generated content, and only 23% content from the L&D team.

It’s through this attitude that Thrive has turned employees into trusted knowledge sharers – and learning becomes part of the culture, not just a function.

3. Smarter journeys, not just more content

A platform that only provides one-size-fits-all training and nothing else isn’t going to engage the modern learner.

Understandably, your employees expect an experience that is hyper-personalised and relevant to them – their individual needs, their department, and their role. Training that tries to cater to everyone ends up catering to no-one. 

Thrive has eschewed the “one-size-fits-all” mindset in favour of personalisation, behavioural nudges, and role-based content pathways that provide learners with exactly what they need – exactly when they need it. 

4. Doing it all in one place

You don’t need a thousand different tools. 

Instead of juggling multiple platforms for LMS, LXP, internal comms, and analytics – with functions spread out confusingly in a sea of disparate apps – bring everything together, all in one place, where your learners can connect. 

Thrive creates a single, streamlined platform that blends learning with comms and analytics – without compromising impact. While learning is the star of the show, it’s supported by effortless communication features that hook your people in from day one, and keep them engaged in their training as their careers progress.

All the while, advanced analytics are running in the background – so as an admin, you get a bird’s-eye view of the impact your training is having on the wider organisation. When are people accessing learning? For how long? What’s working? What isn’t? These insights are valuable tools that allow you to create training that lands, every single time. 

 5. Proving real value, not just reporting clicks

In the past, learning success has often been measured by surface-level metrics like course completion rates and compliance checklists. This box-ticking approach offered little-to-no insight into whether the learning was actually making a difference — either to the learner or to the wider organisation. It was about quantity, not quality.

Thrive takes a different approach. With access to deeper analytics and meaningful data, teams can go beyond passive engagement and start measuring what really matters — from changes in behaviour and team capability to shifts in culture and bottom-line business performance.

Thrive is so focussed on the impact of learning, they’ve named an entire service after it: Thrive Impact brings data and analytics experts together to help customers link their L&D efforts to tangible business outcomes, and prove the value of their training once and for all. They’ve helped customers like Ann Summers, Vitality, and Keyloop dig deep into the story their data is telling them – and showcase its impact to their stakeholders.

At Thrive, we’re proud of the progress we’ve made in six incredible years – and we’re not slowing down. We’ll continue doing things differently, experimenting to find out what works best, and putting customers at the heart of what we do. 

Our customers say it best. In the words of Aiste King, Learning Partner at Reiss: “Passionate, creative, fun, engaging, never stopping to deliver more. That’s why we love Thrive.”

Interested in learning more about Thrive? Head to our blog, or join the conversation over on LinkedIn.