Interplay Learning

Interplay Learning

Interplay Learning launched in 2016 under founder and CEO Doug Donovan, who previously built and sold a workforce development business. The company recognized that baby-boomer retirements in the skilled trades were far outpacing the supply of newly trained electricians, plumbers, and HVAC technicians — a gap the traditional vocational education system was not closing. Headquartered in Austin, Interplay designed a simulation-first training platform that allows learners to practice service calls, diagnostics, and installations in a virtual environment before touching physical equipment. The platform spans HVAC, plumbing, electrical, solar, and facilities maintenance training. Enterprise customers include home-services companies and multifamily property operators that use Interplay to onboard technicians faster; education partners include community colleges and high school career programs. The company competes in a fragmented edtech-for-trades market, positioning its product as an alternative to both textbook-and-lecture curricula and costly physical training labs. Interplay has funded its growth through venture capital, with rounds led by S3 Ventures and joined by edtech specialist Owl Ventures and impact investor SJF Ventures. Interplay serves more than 200,000 learners, according to the firm's public communications, with an underlying business model that charges recurring subscription fees to employers and institutions. The company's headquarters remain in Austin, though its platform is distributed digitally across the United States. In March 2024, Interplay announced a partnership with the Association of Pool & Spa Professionals to deliver specialized training for the pool-industry workforce, broadening its trade vertical coverage. The firm's structural distinction is its simulation engine. Rather than streaming recorded lectures or administering multiple-choice quizzes, Interplay builds 3D scenarios where a learner diagnoses a malfunctioning AC unit or traces a wiring fault using a virtual multimeter. This hands-on-sim approach attempts to compress field experience into screen time — an architecture that separates Interplay from generalist learning management systems and puts it closer to the flight-simulator model of technical training.