Burning Glass Announces Major Investment from Providence Equity

Burning Glass Technologies, the leading provider of high-impact job market analytics that empower employers, workers, and educators to make data-driven decisions, announced a major investment today from Providence Equity Partners that will drive a new phase of growth for the company.
 
Founded in 1999, Burning Glass is reshaping how the labor market works by providing data and tools that improve the way job seekers and employers connect and by delivering the strategic intelligence to understand demand, supply, and the skill gaps that keep them apart.  The company’s artificial intelligence technology analyzes tens of millions of job postings and real-life career transitions to provide insight into labor market patterns such as which jobs are most in demand, the specific skills employers need, high potential career directions for workers, and the academic programs educators should offer to prepare students for specific careers.
 
Providence Equity’s investment will allow Burning Glass to accelerate its vision and product roadmap.  CEO Matthew Sigelman will continue to lead the Boston-based company.  Brian Napack, Senior Advisor at Providence, will join the Board of Directors as Chairman.  Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
 
“With almost a third of adults finding themselves outside the workforce and at the same time companies struggling to find the talent that they need, the job market is clearly broken,” Sigelman said.  “We are thrilled to draw on Providence’s outstanding experience in education and information services as we continue to bring new alignment between jobs, people, and learning.”
 
“Bridging the gap between ’unemployed’ and ‘employed’ is one of the most important challenges we face as a society,” said Napack.  “Burning Glass sits squarely at the center of the skill gap and has rapidly become an indispensable source of actionable insight for the job seekers, employers, schools and policy makers seeking to move the needle on this critical issue.  We are very much looking forward to partnering with Matt and his talented team as they continue to deliver transformative big-data solutions to important problems.”
 
Providence is a leading global private equity firm with over $40 billion in commitments and a focus on media, communications, education, and information investments. Providence is making the investment in Burning Glass from its Providence Strategic Growth (PSG) fund.
 
Burning Glass data, tools, and analytics enable employers to improve the way they recruit, train, and manage their workforce.  At the same time, Burning Glass provides data-driven applications for workers and students to identify career goals and build the skills they need to reach them.  Burning Glass’ applications are used by educators in aligning programs with the labor market, by employers and recruiters in filling positions more effectively, and policy makers in shaping strategic workforce decisions.
 
“With its big-data approach to analyzing the job market and its powerful application set that connects people with jobs and learning with careers, Burning Glass fits squarely into our investment theses in both education and information services.” said Marco Ferrari, a Principal at Providence. “Burning Glass is a transformative company that is well situated for robust growth, and we’re excited to partner with this world-class team to add lasting value to the company.”