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Stepful

Category: AI in Education

AI-powered online training platform that prepares individuals for entry-level healthcare jobs and provides a school-as-a-service workforce pipeline for health systems. Stepful was founded in 2021. The company is led by Carl Madi. Based in New York, NY, USA. Team size: 51-100. Total funding raised: $105M. Latest round: Series C. Key investors include Oak HC/FT, Y Combinator, Reach Capital, AlleyCorp Impact, SemperVirens, Company Ventures, Green Sands Equity, EO Ventures, 01 Advisors, Foresite Capital, Hearst Ventures, Citi Impact Fund.

Founded
2021
Headquarters
New York, NY, USA
Team size
51-100
Total funding
$105M

Value proposition

Stepful offers accelerated, affordable (10x cheaper, 4x faster than traditional programs) AI-powered healthcare training with live instruction, personalized coaching, and direct job placement, addressing the critical U.S. healthcare worker shortage.

Products and solutions

Online certification programs: Medical Assistant, Pharmacy Technician, Medical Admin, Patient Care Tech, Practical Nursing (LPN), Dental Assistant, Surgical Tech. School-as-a-Service platform for health systems including AI-powered personalized learning, clinical simulation with avatar-based patient encounters, remote clinical competency evaluations, workforce analytics, and upskilling tools.

Unique value

Vertically integrated AI-powered "school-as-a-service" that is 10x cheaper and 4x faster than traditional trade schools/community colleges, with 87% NHA CCMA exam pass rate (10 pts above national avg), 75% completion rate, and 80% job placement within 2 months. Employer-centric model lets health systems sponsor debt-free training for their own pipeline.

Target customer

Dual-sided: (1) Individuals with a high school education seeking entry-level healthcare careers; (2) Healthcare systems and hospitals (B2B) needing to build, train, and retain their clinical workforce.

Industries served

Healthcare workforce development, Allied health education, Healthcare staffing

Technology advantage

Proprietary AI engine for personalized learning interventions (AI sends automated messages to at-risk students), AI-powered clinical simulation using high-fidelity avatar-based patient encounters, autonomous clinical competency evaluations with real-time multimodal assessments, and a data flywheel that ingests student interactions, certification outcomes, and employer feedback to continuously improve the platform.

How they differentiate

Unlike traditional trade schools and competitors, Stepful is AI-native with a vertically integrated school-as-a-service model centered on employers. It offers debt-free, employer-sponsored pathways, 4-month accelerated programs vs. 2-year programs, and direct job placement through 8,000+ clinical partner sites. Its AI-driven personalized coaching and automated clinical simulations replace physical simulation labs.

Main competitors

MedCerts, ed2go (Cengage), CareerStep, Penn Foster

Key partnerships

35+ major health systems including Mount Sinai, Ochsner Health, Providence, Ohio State University Physicians, Advent Health, Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, Intermountain Health. Y Combinator (S21 batch).

Notable customers

Mount Sinai Health System, Ochsner Health, Providence, Ohio State University Physicians, Advent Health, Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital

Major milestones

2021: Founded, YC S21 batch, raised $125K pre-seed, 2023: Raised $7.5M seed round, 2024: Raised $12M Series A (Feb) and $31.5M Series B (Nov), 2025: Ranked #1 EdTech company in US by TIME, 2026: Raised $55M Series C (June), Acquired St. Louis College of Nursing Careers, Expanded into practical nursing, dental assistant, surgical tech programs

Growth metrics

32,000+ graduates; 30,000+ enrollees projected (2024); 13,000 monthly active students; 8,000+ clinical partner sites; 35+ health system clients; 87% NHA CCMA exam pass rate; 75% completion rate; 80% job placement within 2 months

Market positioning

Positioned as the leading AI-powered healthcare workforce infrastructure platform in the $28B healthcare training market, targeting the critical shortage of 3.2M allied health workers. Ranked #1 EdTech company in the US by TIME (2025).

Geographic focus

United States (national footprint with 8,000+ clinical partner sites across all 50 states)

About Carl Madi

Ex-Uber, Airbnb, Amino Apps (operations); Global Head of DTC at Handy. Wharton (B.S., 2017).

Official website: