Bites Raises $40 Million to Train Frontline Workers Through WhatsApp With AI-Generated Lessons, Counting Unilever and Coca-Cola as Customers

Most of the world's workers do not sit at desks. They work in shops, restaurants, hotels, factories and warehouses, and they rarely have time for lengthy training courses on a computer. A startup that delivers short training lessons to their phones has raised funding to expand in the United States.

Bites, which has offices in Tel Aviv and New York, has raised $40 million in a Series A round led by PeakSpan Capital, according to an announcement on Thursday, October 29, reported by Tech Startups. Existing investors Vertex Ventures, Horizon Capital, Rittenhouse Ventures and Lyra Ventures also participated. The round brings Bites' total funding to $55 million.

The company was founded in 2020 by Eran Heffetz, Tal Nagler Almog and Hagai Horovitz.

Training where workers are

Bites delivers short videos and interactive lessons to frontline workers through the channels they already use, including WhatsApp, SMS, Microsoft Teams, Slack and web links. Workers do not need to download a separate app or log into a corporate learning system, which removes a major barrier to participation.

The company uses AI to turn company documents, such as product manuals, safety procedures and service guidelines, into short training content. This allows companies to create and update training materials much faster than with traditional methods.

Engagement as the key metric

Bites reports engagement of more than 90% within three weeks and net revenue retention of about 161%, according to Tech Startups. Both figures are company-reported. Net revenue retention above 100% means that existing customers increase their spending over time, typically by expanding use to more workers or locations.

Traditional corporate training often struggles with low completion rates among frontline workers, who may have limited time and access to computers. High engagement is therefore a strong selling point.

Blue-chip customers

Bites counts large global companies among its customers, including Unilever, Coca-Cola, Shake Shack, Wynn Resorts, The Venetian and Compass Group, according to Tech Startups. These companies employ large numbers of frontline workers across many locations, where consistent training is essential for safety, customer service and compliance.

The frontline workforce challenge

Companies employing frontline workers face high staff turnover, particularly in retail and hospitality. New employees need to be trained quickly, and existing staff must be updated on new products, procedures and regulations. Inconsistent training can lead to poor customer experiences, safety incidents and compliance failures.

Microlearning, delivering training in short, focused units, has become popular as a way to fit learning into busy work schedules. Mobile delivery makes it accessible to workers who do not have regular access to computers.

The WhatsApp advantage

Using WhatsApp as a delivery channel is particularly powerful in markets where it is the dominant communication tool, including India, Latin America, Europe and much of Africa and Asia. In India, WhatsApp has hundreds of millions of users, and businesses increasingly use it to communicate with customers and employees.

Relevance for India

India has one of the world's largest frontline workforces, in retail, hospitality, logistics, manufacturing, healthcare and services. Companies such as quick commerce platforms, retail chains, hotel groups and logistics companies employ hundreds of thousands of frontline workers who need training. Upskilling the workforce is also a national priority, with government programmes aimed at improving employability.

Indian HR tech and edtech startups have developed tools for frontline workforce management and training, and the success of companies like Bites highlights the market opportunity. Indian vernacular content will be essential, given the diversity of languages spoken by frontline workers.

Israel's enterprise tech strength

Bites is part of Israel's large enterprise technology ecosystem, which has produced many successful companies in software, cybersecurity and HR technology. Many Israeli startups establish US headquarters to be closer to their largest customers while maintaining research and development in Israel.

Measuring training impact

One of the long-standing challenges in corporate training is measuring its impact on business performance. Bites' emphasis on engagement metrics, such as completion rates, provides one measure, but employers increasingly want to know whether training improves outcomes such as sales, customer satisfaction, safety and staff retention. Platforms that can link training data with business results are likely to have an advantage in winning enterprise customers.

The AI content advantage

Creating training content has traditionally required instructional designers, video production and significant time. AI tools that convert existing documents into short lessons, quizzes and videos can dramatically reduce the time and cost of producing training. They also make it easier to update content when products or procedures change, which is frequent in sectors such as retail and hospitality.

As generative AI improves, training platforms may be able to personalise lessons for individual workers, adapting content to their role, language and learning progress.

Retention and engagement

High staff turnover is one of the most costly challenges for frontline employers. Research has suggested that employees who receive good training and development opportunities are more likely to stay with their employers. By making training more accessible and engaging, platforms like Bites could help companies reduce turnover, as well as improve performance.

For workers, accessible training can also improve career prospects, helping them develop skills that lead to promotions or better jobs.

Competition

Bites competes with other frontline learning platforms, as well as with traditional learning management systems and workforce management software that include training features. Large HR software providers are also adding mobile learning capabilities. Its focus on delivering training through existing messaging channels, combined with AI-generated content, is intended to differentiate it in a crowded market. The company's strong engagement and revenue retention figures suggest it has found a formula that resonates with large employers, which will be important as it expands in the United States.

What comes next

Bites will use the funding to expand in the United States and develop its product, according to the announcement. Its progress will be watched as a test of whether AI-powered microlearning delivered through everyday messaging apps can become the standard for training the world's frontline workforce.

Employers, meanwhile, are likely to continue investing in tools that help them train and retain frontline staff, given persistent labour shortages in sectors such as hospitality and retail, and the growing recognition that a well-trained workforce delivers better service and stronger financial performance over time. Its expansion in the United States, the world's largest market for workforce software, will be the most important test of the company's ambitions.