Our story

We exist to unlock human potential, so every organization can become what it's capable of

Obrizum was born in Cambridge to answer a question most organizations still can't: what can our people really do?

Obrizum co-founders Dr Chibeza Agley, Dr Sarra Achouri and Dr Juergen Fink in Cambridge

In 2015, three PhD-trained scientists working as research fellows at the University of Cambridge – Dr. Chibeza Agley, Dr. Sarra Achouri, and Dr. Juergen Fink – co-founded the company to fix a problem that organizations had struggled to solve.

Learning systems could show who had attended training, completed a course or passed an assessment. But these measures alone could not show whether someone truly understood the subject, how confident they were in that understanding, or whether the organization had the capability it needed.

And much of the knowledge that matters most does not sit neatly inside a course. It lives in policies, procedures, systems, documentation and the experience of the people doing the work.

Obrizum set out to make that knowledge more useful: to structure it, assess how well people understand it and bring the results together into a clearer view of organizational capability. That engine became Obrizum.

Today, we help organizations move beyond measuring learning activity to understanding what their people know, where gaps exist and where attention is needed.

Because knowing what people have completed is not the same as knowing what they can do.

“What makes Obrizum special is that we’ve focused on things we believe were missed in traditional learning markets - understanding not just what people have learned, but what they truly know, where their gaps are and whether they are ready to perform.”

Dr. Chibeza Agley, CEO
What we believe

Knowledge is already there

Every organization holds valuable knowledge across its people, processes, policies and systems. The opportunity is to make that knowledge accessible, measurable and useful.

Completion isn't capability

A completed course is a record of activity, not proof of readiness. Organizations need a clearer understanding of what people know and can apply.

Confidence matters as much as correctness

Correct answers do not tell the whole story. Understanding confidence alongside accuracy can help reveal uncertainty, misconceptions and potential risks that might otherwise go unnoticed.

Proof beats hype

Expert validation, meaningful measures and evidence of outcomes matter more than claims about what technology might achieve.

The Obrizum timeline to date
2015
Founded in Cambridge

A New Approach to Learning

Founded in Cambridge by Dr. Chibeza Agley, Dr. Sarra Achouri and Dr. Juergen Fink, with a vision to transform how organizations develop knowledge and skills through intelligent, adaptive learning.

2016-2018
Technology Innovation

Building the original Adaptive Learning Engine

Developed Obrizum’s first proprietary adaptive learning technology, using AI to personalize learning experiences based on individual knowledge, understanding and performance.

2018-2021
Early Investment & Growth

From Innovation to Enterprise

Secured early investment to accelerate product development and commercial growth. Obrizum began expanding its enterprise presence, bringing adaptive learning technology into complex organizational environments.

2021
Protecting Innovation

Building a Foundation of Intellectual Property

Obrizum secured its first patents, protecting key innovations in adaptive learning and knowledge assessment and strengthening the foundations of its proprietary technology.

2022
Series A Funding

$11.5M to Accelerate Growth

Raised $11.5 million in Series A funding, led by Guinness Ventures with participation from existing and new investors, including Celeres Ventures. The investment accelerated product innovation and enterprise expansion.

2023
Enterprise Expansion

Scaling Intelligent Learning

Expanded enterprise adoption and continued developing the platform’s ability to measure knowledge, improve learning effectiveness and support workforce capability development at scale.

2024
Industry Recognition

Award-Winning AI Innovation

Recognized by the Learning and Performance Institute with the Gold Award for Best Use of AI in Learning, highlighting Obrizum’s continued innovation in applying AI to enterprise learning.

2025-2026
A New Category

Introducing Capability Intelligence

Evolved beyond traditional adaptive learning to bring together knowledge, skills and capability insights. Obrizum developed its proposition around helping organizations identify capability gaps, understand readiness risks and make more informed workforce decisions.

Shortlisted: Brandon Hall Excellence in Technology Awards Best Advance in AI and Machine Learning with ISC2: 'AI-Personalized Learning for Cybersecurity Exam Preparation and Certification Readiness'

What’s next?
The Future of Workforce Development

From What People Learn to What They Can Do

“The future of workforce development will not be defined by what people have learned, but by what they are capable of doing. Our vision is to help every organization understand, develop, and activate capability at scale.”

Dr. Chibeza Agley, CEO
Founders & Leadership

The people behind Obrizum.

Obrizum brings together scientific, technical, commercial and enterprise leadership to solve a complex problem: helping organizations understand what their people know and what they are ready to do.

Our experience spans AI, adaptive learning, data science, product development, information security and enterprise transformation. Together, we combine scientific rigor with the practical experience needed to build technology for complex organizations.

The aim is straightforward: give organizations better evidence to understand capability, make informed decisions and focus development where it matters most.

Dr. Chibeza Chintu Agley
Dr. Chibeza Chintu Agley
Chief Executive Officer
PhD, MSc (distinction), BSc (First Class, Hons)

Chibeza is a scientist, technology entrepreneur and transformation leader who co- founded Obrizum in 2015. With a PhD in stem cell biology from King’s College London and research experience at the University of Cambridge, he brings scientific rigor to the development of AI-powered technology. He has led Obrizum’s evolution into an enterprise software business focused on turning organizational knowledge into measurable workforce capability and business impact.

Dr. Sarra Achouri
Dr. Sarra Achouri
Co-Founder & Chief Experience Officer
PhD, MSc, BSc (Hons)

Sarra co-founded Obrizum in 2015 and leads the experience customers have with the platform, from implementation and adoption to customer success and long-term value. A biophysicist with a PhD from the University of Cambridge, she combines scientific thinking with extensive experience of enterprise deployments and customer relationships. Her focus is ensuring that Obrizum’s technology translates into meaningful outcomes for the organizations that use it.

Dr. Juergen Fink
Dr. Juergen Fink
Co-Founder & Chief Financial Officer
BSc, MSc, MRes, PhD

Juergen is a co-founder of Obrizum, bringing over a decade of financial and operational leadership to the business. Working closely with the CEO, he has helped build the company from its earliest stages, overseeing financial planning and execution, investor relations, and the financial, legal and shareholder processes supporting institutional investment rounds and other sources of funding. He also served as COO for nine years, with responsibility for people and day-to-day operations. He now focuses on financial strategy, governance and capital planning to support Obrizum’s continued growth. Juergen holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge.

Andy Simpson
Andy Simpson
Chief Information Security Officer
MBA, MSc, BA (Hons), CISM, CEng MIET, MSyI

Andy brings more than 25 years of experience protecting information and critical national infrastructure across UK defense and government. His background includes security roles at the Ministry of Defence (Army), the Houses of Parliament (DA) and Rolls-Royce’s Small Modular Reactor program. At Obrizum, he leads information and cyber security, compliance, privacy and trust, helping the business meet the demanding security and regulatory requirements of global customers and their supply chains.

Johnathan Adams
Johnathan Adams
Chief Product Officer

Jonathan is an experienced product and technology executive with over 15 years of leadership experience spanning enterprise SaaS, EdTech, R&D and operations, including a previous role as Chief Operating Officer. Since joining Obrizum in 2023, he has built and led the Product function, defining product vision and strategy and driving the platform's evolution towards Capability Intelligence. He works across product, technology and commercial teams to harness AI, learning data and analytics, translating complex customer needs into scalable solutions that help organizations understand workforce capability and make better- informed decisions.

Joshua K. Heimbach
Joshua K. Heimbach
Chief Technology Officer
BSc (Hons)

Josh has been instrumental in building Obrizum’s technology from its early stages into an enterprise learning platform. With a background in software engineering, data integration and research software development at the University of Cambridge, he combines hands-on technical expertise with engineering leadership. As CTO, he leads the platform’s technical direction, including its AI-powered adaptive learning capabilities, architecture, scalability and secure delivery.

Jessica Benton
Jessica Benton
Head of Marketing

Jessica brings more than 15 years of B2B marketing leadership with experience at Microsoft, Red Hat and Tableau and high-growth startups Trifacta, DataStax and Copado. She specializes in scaling go-to-market strategies and driving demand across UK, Europe and US markets. Combining strategic vision with commercial execution, she turns complex technology into differentiated positioning, predictable pipeline and business growth. At Obrizum, she leads marketing strategy, brand, demand generation and business development to accelerate enterprise growth.

Jamie Clohesy
Jamie Clohesy
General Manager

Jamie is General Manager at Obrizum, where he leads the commercial function across sales strategy and client partnerships. Following a career in the military, he spent more than 20 in enterprise technology, building and scaling commercial functions, developing high-performing teams and putting in place the discipline that turns early momentum into sustainable growth. He brings a disciplined, people-focused approach to Obrizum’s mission to help organizations understand workforce capability and make better-informed decisions. Jamie is passionate about coaching and developing people. Outside work, he remains involved in the skydiving world and is a keen motorcyclist.

Our Board of Directors

Guidance and Governance

Mike Pilcher

Chairman
Mike Pilcher

Mike Pilcher is an experienced B2B SaaS revenue leader with 30 years of experience across sales, marketing and customer success in the US and UK. He has held senior commercial leadership roles at Tenfold, comScore and Condeco, with extensive experience scaling technology businesses and building high-performing revenue teams. Mike is Chairman of Obrizum and inploi, bringing commercial leadership and revenue growth expertise to the Obrizum Board.

Shane Gallwey

Board member
Shane Gallwey

Shane Gallwey is Founder of Guinness Ventures, established in 2010, which has invested over £300m in UK growth companies. He previously advised businesses at Northland Capital Partners and HSBC Investment Bank, where he focused on Telecoms and Technology sectors. He holds an MA from the University of Edinburgh and is a CFA Charterholder. Shane brings extensive experience in venture capital, growth investment, corporate finance and backing ambitious technology businesses to the Obrizum Board.

Matt Bunn

Board member
Matt Bunn

Matt Bunn is CEO and Co-Founder of Form1 Partners, which helps some of the UK’s leading scale-up companies achieve commercial success. He is also a Non-Executive Director at London Dynamics and previously worked in the M&A team at Barclays before becoming Managing Director of Capita PLC’s venturing business. Matt brings expertise in corporate finance, strategic growth and helping ambitious businesses scale to the Obrizum Board.

Sam Dean

Board member
Sam Dean

Sam Dean is an investment banker with 34 years of experience in Equity Capital Markets (ECM) and senior leadership roles. He is currently Chairman of ECM at Jefferies and has advised companies across geographies and sectors, notably on IPOs for fast-growing and innovative technology businesses. Sam brings financial acumen, capital markets expertise and experience advising high-growth businesses to the Obrizum Board.

Rishad Abraham

Board member
Rishad Abraham

Rishad Abraham is a Portfolio Manager at Celeres Capital Advisors, where he leads venture capital and private equity investments in high-growth businesses, with a focus on technology and AI-driven companies. Previously, he worked at Strategy&, advising businesses on market entry and private equity due diligence. He has previously sat on the board of Wingstop UK and currently sits on the boards of Lifelong India and Simha Capital Partners. Rishad brings experience in technology investment, strategic development and scaling ambitious businesses to the Obrizum Board.

Our investors

Obrizum is backed by a group of international technology, venture, and growth investors including Guinness Ventures, PwC, Pearson, Celeres Ventures, Qatar Science & Technology Park, Cambridge Capital Group, Beaubridge, and Juno Capital Partners& Technology Park, Cambridge Capital Group, Beaubridge, and Juno Capital Partners

Why Obrizum?

Enterprise-grade security and the confidence to scale readiness across teams and regions.

Secure by design
Globally recognized
Born in Cambridge
Secure by design
Globally recognized
Born in Cambridge
World Economic Forum Tech Pioneer 2025
Best Use of AI in Learning 2024, Gold Winner
Deloitte Technology Fast 50 2025 UK Winner
Secure by design
Globally recognized
Born in Cambridge

Obrizum was founded in Cambridge by three scientists

University of Cambridge
Trusted by

Where knowledge becomes capability.

Book a demo today to see how Obrizum can transform the way you see what your people can really do.

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