New AI training company attracts €1m investment to build global education standard

 A new Irish EdTech venture aiming to create the global certification standard for AI skills has secured €1 million in funding, led by Bill McCabe’s Oyster Capital with support from Enterprise Ireland.

AICertified is the brainchild of EdTech entrepreneur, Ian Dodson, who co-founded and built the Digital Marketing Institute (DMI) in 2008, establishing a global benchmark in digital marketing training that produced more than 75,000 graduates.

The company was acquired by Spectrum Equity in 2017 and later by BPP Education Group in 2023, a leading provider of professional and vocational education worldwide.

AICertified aims to replicate what the DMI achieved in digital marketing, this time for artificial intelligence by building a university-accredited, and industry-validated standard for professional AI competence aligned with the European Qualifications Framework.

“This is about more than a course or a certificate – it’s about creating a measurable and trusted framework for competence in AI,” said Dodson.

 

“The AI training market today is fragmented and fundamentally unreliable. No one has yet defined what it is to be AI certified, nor the progression route to get there.

“Our answer is simple – set a single reliable standard, provide an outcome-driven path and certify skills in a way employers and students can trust.”

Dodson said the investment will accelerate product development, grow the team, and scale the company’s learning platform ahead of its first course launching in February 2026. An initial team of 8 is expected to grow to 15 in the company’s first year.

Oyster Capital was established by one of Ireland’s most successful tech entrepreneurs, Bill McCabe and is focused on backing high-growth, globally scalable companies in EdTech, software, healthcare and enterprise technology.

McCabe previously founded CBT Systems – later SmartForce – the world’s largest e-learning company and the first Irish tech company to list on the NASDAQ.

“We invested in AICertified because Ian and his team have done it before,” said Martin Scully, CEO at Oyster Capital.

“The demand for structured, credible AI training is enormous. We see a clear path to  a market-leading AI training company emerging from Ireland – one built to guarantee outcomes for employers and graduates.”

 

The majority of global employers now regard AI as critical to their strategy, yet skill investment consistently lags behind adoption.

Forecasts show that millions of roles will require AI upskilling or retraining over the next five years. AI and big data topped the list of fastest-growing skills in the latest “Future of Jobs Report” from the World Economic Forum, while demand for AI literacy skills have increased more than sixfold in the past year.

AICertified’s model will deliver certification spanning short skills sprints to professional diplomas and postgraduate diplomas. People can register their interest at BecomeAICertified.com.

Financial advisors on the transaction included Hugh O’Neill of Hogan & Associates, with legal advisory services from Seán Wallace of Wallace Corporate Counsel

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