Praxis Labs has been acquired.
As AFROTECH™ previously told you, the company was co-founded by AFROTECH™ Future 50 honoree Elise Smith and launched as an “immersive practice-based platform that drives inclusive, engaged, and higher-performing teams” powered by AI. Praxis Labs’ product offerings are Pivotal Practice, which helps managers to improve their critical human skills, and Pivotal Experiences, 15-30-minute perspective-taking simulations intended to increase empathy and provide a practice ground for workplace scenarios, its website mentions.
TechCrunch notes the company’s client pool includes eBay, Zoom, Amazon, Google, and Target.
“For me, it’s how do we use technology to help us become even better humans, to help us be able to give feedback across differences, to navigate difficult conversations, to provide performance feedback and expectations with accountability and care in a way that actually serves us all better, that creates more value for everyone, doesn’t cause harm,” she said in a previous interview with AFROTECH™. “We’re seeing our workplaces need that more than ever.”
Praxis Labs raised $15.5 million back in 2021 in an oversubscribed Series A round led by Norwest Venture Partners and Emerson Collective with participation from Stephen Curry’s Penny Jar Capital, Precursor Ventures, Concrete Rose Capital, Ulu Ventures, SoftBank’s SB Opportunity Fund, and Firework Ventures.
Acquisition
Fast forward to 2025, and the company has now been acquired by leadership coaching enterprise Torch, per TechCrunch. The decision was informed by “a clear connection and opportunity to connect Torch’s contextual coaching and organizational insights with Praxis’ AI coaching, practice, and skill assessments,” Smith told the outlet.
Smith and co-founder Heather Shen will now step into new roles at Torch as head of AI growth and head of AI product, respectively. Praxis’ team will also be incorporated into Torch.
“Right now, every company and executive team is facing this pivotal question: How will they prepare and manage this next generation of work with humans and AI, while maintaining the human connection that’s essential for real workforce and company transformation?” Smith said, per TechCrunch. “We’re confident that joining Torch gives us the best possible opportunity to help companies solve this question in this crucial moment.”
