Stax co-founder gets $2 million investment for new Orlando tech startup Pete Learning

Pete Learning, the Orlando company founded by Stax Payments cofounder Jacques Fu in 2023, closed its seed funding round on April 8, securing $2 million from investors. 

The round was led by Cofounders Capital, a Cary, North Carolina-based early-stage seed fund focused on B2B software ventures in the Southeast. The round also included capital from angel investors in the Orlando area, according to a Pete news release. The equity position of the investors was not disclosed.

"From the outset, we've been thoroughly impressed with the sophistication of the Pete technical solution and the track record of this management team," said Cofounders Capital Founding Partner David Gardner in a prepared statement. “The potential for AI to dramatically disrupt the corporate education space is something we have been following closely, and we have found the right tech and team to back in this space.”

The news release outlined how Pete will use the capital infusion: to amplify the company’s sales efforts and strategic marketing initiatives and continue the development of its patent-pending proprietary AI technology. 

President Luis Garcia, who launched Full Sail University’s online degree programs in 2007 — doubling the school’s roster of degree-seeking students in about two-and-a-half years — joined the Pete team in August. He told Orlando Business Journal Pete’s approach to fundraising was one of the reasons he felt compelled to become a part of the company. 

“The people who started this, they’re a group of entrepreneurs who have achieved incredible success: Jacques as CEO and developer, and [Stax founders] Suneera Madhani and Sal Rehmetulla as great advisers,” he said. “They easily could have self-funded [Pete], but they’ve decided to raise money locally as a leadership statement. They want to be a strong spark that ignites a lot more investment into the technology ecosystem of Orlando.” 

The education technology startup developed a platform that transforms client input into customized online courses for workforce training such as regulatory compliance, product knowledge, technical skills and more. 

In addition to foundational course content, clients also provide Pete with enough information about their audiences that the firm’s AI engine Cognition — which has a provisional patent — can create versions that best meet each kind of learner’s needs. The possibilities for versions are relatively endless. 

Garcia said, “There are different engines that are good at different things. ChatGPT is good at writing, but it can access information only up to 2021. Google’s AI platform Bard can search the internet. There are other models, too, and Cognition does what’s called ‘orchestrating’ — taking the best elements from each engine and orchestrating the outputs we need.” 

During the learner’s onboarding process, they answer questions that lead them to the module version that suits them, he said. 

Pete is intended for enterprise-level use. “There are other AI platforms out there that show people how to monetize their expertise, like Kajabi, Disco and Teachable — but we are focusing on businesses first,” said Garcia. 

Since its founding in June 2023, Pete has grown its client base to include national organizations, and locally, Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College and Starter Studio. 

Another local client is the Orlando Venues Department, the city division that manages Kia Center, Camping World Stadium, Tinker Field, Harry P. Leu Gardens and the Mennello Museum of American Art.   

“The venues department uses it for onboarding, covering operating processes and security processes,” said Garcia. “They have a large number of contractors that need to be trained really fast and in a changing environment, so having the ability to create content quickly that is specific and customized is very important to them.” 

Pete Learning

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