AI-powered employee alignment platform Dosen has secured $2.3 million in an oversubscribed pre-seed funding round. The raise was led by Affinity Ventures, with participation from Unshackled Ventures and Fuel Ventures, reflecting a growing appetite for tools that help businesses retain talent and drive performance in an increasingly distributed work environment.
Exceeding its initial target, Dosen’s funding round underscores the urgency investors see in solving the $500 billion workplace underperformance problem. The capital will be used to accelerate product development, scale the team, and expand Dosen’s market presence, especially among companies with over 100 employees navigating organisational transition and change.
The growing disconnect at work
The platform’s rise comes at a time when the modern workplace is facing alarming levels of disengagement. Studies show that 95% of employees don’t know their company’s strategy or goals, and 85% report no sense of purpose in their work. This has contributed to a sharp increase in “quiet quitting,” where 60% of workers admit to doing only the bare minimum, feeling psychologically detached from their roles.
These figures are especially concerning given the broader context of hybrid work and organisational change. With 65% of employees now working remotely, traditional top-down approaches to alignment and learning are no longer sufficient.
Meet the founders: Deep operational and entrepreneurial roots
Dosen was founded by a trio of Irish entrepreneurs now based in Los Angeles: Ronan Wall, Victor Burke, and Cian McCarthy, each bringing a unique blend of corporate and startup experience.
Ronan Wall previously co-founded Matchbook.com (acquired in 2014), served as Online COO at Paddy Power, scaling the company from 100 to 5,000 employees, and held a senior executive role at Ticketmaster. Victor Burke is a two-time founder, having launched Wilde Irish Gin and ICP Digital Media. Lastly, Cian McCarthy brings serial founder experience, having led ventures like Pina Gold and Base Influence.
Their combined backgrounds in high-growth environments and digital transformation give Dosen a strong strategic foundation as it tackles systemic workplace challenges.
The idea for Dosen emerged from the founders’ firsthand experiences navigating misalignment within large-scale organisations. They observed how disconnected teams, unclear goals, and a lack of shared purpose led to stagnating performance and high turnover. These observations formed the basis for Dosen: a platform that doesn’t just provide training but deeply aligns employee purpose with company strategy using the power of AI.
AI that aligns purpose and performance
At the heart of Dosen’s platform is AI-powered matching between organisational inputs (structure, goals, roles) and employee inputs (personal values, skills, purpose). The result is a system that builds:
- Personalised learning journeys for employees based on their roles, aspirations, and development areas.
- Real-time alignment between individual learning paths and evolving company goals.
- Scientifically-backed ROI, using proven methodologies to maximise impact for both businesses and their people.
Unlike generic L&D platforms, Dosen’s approach creates dynamic alignment, transforming learning into a strategic tool for performance.
Looking ahead: Scalable, purpose-driven growth
With fresh funding and strong traction, Dosen is poised to become a critical tool for forward-thinking HR leaders and senior executives. Its early customer feedback points to measurable improvements in employee engagement, performance, and retention.
As companies struggle to navigate hybrid work, high turnover, and digital transformation, Dosen’s AI-led, purpose-first approach offers a timely and scalable solution. With a founding team that understands how to build and scale businesses, the company is well-positioned to change how companies think about talent, alignment, and growth.
Co-founder Ronan Wall said “We’re thrilled by the overwhelming support we’ve received, exceeding our initial round size by 50%. Dosen is designed specifically to help HR teams and senior leaders solve the biggest challenge they face right now, underperformance or loss of their top talent. This investment allows us to reach more people and companies and put an end to the trend of ‘Quiet Quitting’
Victor Burke, Co-founder, added “This pre-seed round validates our mission to redefine workplace learning. By automating the personalisation of training at scale, we’re excited to make a significant impact for organisations and the people within them.”
Cian McCarthy, Co-founder, added “The most exciting thing about Dosen is that the product is in its infancy and we see a huge opportunity to advance it further, driving even greater levels of employee purpose and company performance after this round.”
