Talespin secured $15 million in new financing, adding to an investor roster that includes Farmers Insurance. The Los Angeles-based startup plans to use the funding to further develop its extended reality (XR) technology toward learning, training and job performance evaluation.

XR is a term that refers, in part, to human-machine interactions generated by computer technology and wearables.

Cornerstone, a cloud-based learning and human capital management software company, led the Series B financing. The firm will also partner with Talespin to develop technology and products to improve HR and L&D (learning and development) practices. Talespin’s VR (virtual reality) learning content will be made available to customers through Cornerstone’s product offerings. Talespin’s Runway platform will also be integrated with Cornerstone’s Learning Management System to support XR training deployment and skills matching analytics.

Including the new round, Talespin’s total funding is at $20 million.

Talespin said its technology is used by the insurance, telecommunications, technology and healthcare industries at the Fortune 500 level. Farmers Insurance is an early customer and Talespin investor, the company said.

“Farmers work with Talespin continues to deliver innovative technology to help empower our employees to provide a high level of customer service,” Scott Lindquist, chief financial officer of Farmers Insurance Group, said in prepared remarks. “Their immersive VR and AR (augmented reality) platforms have helped us reshape the way we look at training Farmers Insurance claims adjusters, and we’re excited to continue to support the Talespin team through this next phase of growth and development.”

Talespin said it will use the cash infusion to continue fueling Runway, its talent development platform, and also expand research and development. Funding will also help to continue growing the Talespin VR learning content library.

Talespin frames its sales pitch as offering a way, through its Runway platform, to accelerate “knowledge transfer for soft and hard skills” and also offer “advanced skills data to enable purpose-driven career decisions for employees and better talent decisions for organizations.” Launched in 2015, Talespin said its Runway platform helps offer XR-based learning and training applications plus mixed-reality field tools to support employee job performance. It also is designed to “advance the collection and alignment of skills data,” the company said. Talespin has offices in Los Angeles and Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Kyle Jackson, CEO and co-founder of Talespin, said in prepared remarks that the new financing and Cornerstone partnership “will allow us to expand our product offerings” and “continue building innovative [products and services] that redefine what work looks like in the future.”

Source: Talespin