Career Karma Acquired by Climb Credit, Founders Pivot to AI Venture OutRival

Career Karma, a platform dedicated to guiding individuals through job training programs, has been acquired by Climb Credit, a leading student payment platform focused on career training. The acquisition signals a strategic move to enhance access to career-aligned education and simultaneously allows Career Karma's founding team to fully dedicate their efforts to their artificial intelligence venture, OutRivalAI.

Ruben Harris, co-founder of Career Karma, announced the acquisition, stating in a tweet, "> NEWSFLASH 🚨: @Career_Karma has been acquired by @ClimbCredit." He emphasized the shared mission, adding, "Climb shares that mission and will take it even further, helping learners not just find programs but get the financial support to start them." Climb Credit CEO Casey Powers echoed this sentiment, highlighting the acquisition's focus on impact and expanding reach into new high-demand industries like healthcare and skilled trades.

The integration of Career Karma into Climb Credit is expected to create a more streamlined journey for learners, from program discovery to enrollment. This combination aims to provide stronger discovery tools and personalized support, benefiting both prospective students and the educational institutions serving them. Jeff Herbst, a seasoned marketing executive, has been appointed to lead Career Karma's next chapter under Climb.

Concurrently, the acquisition facilitates the Career Karma founding team, including Ruben Harris and Timur Meyster, to "go all in on @OutRivalAI," as stated in Harris's tweet. OutRivalAI is a conversational AI platform that builds digital workers to transform customer interactions, particularly within higher education admissions. The platform, founded in 2018, aims to democratize AI by enabling non-technical teams to create and deploy AI agents, already handling millions of calls monthly for universities. This strategic pivot positions the founders at the forefront of AI innovation in customer experience.