Skillmaker, the AI-native workforce development platform for the skilled trades, today announced the close of its oversubscribed $4.5 million Seed round — capital that arrives at a milestone rare at this stage: a product already shipping across early deployments, and recognized by the industry’s leading standards and certification body.
Skillmaker has built and deployed the NAPA Autotech XcceleratoR through an exclusive five-year distribution agreement with Genuine Parts Company (NYSE: GPC) and National Automotive Parts Association (NAPA), the largest automotive aftermarket ecosystem in North America. The platform has earned the Blue Seal of Excellence from the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE)
and is now deployed across more than 20 states. Its full commercial release follows at the SEMA Show in
Las Vegas, November 3–6, 2026, the world’s largest automotive trade show.
Skillmaker has been named to the 2026 GSV Cup 50, a recognition that spotlights emerging companies building the next wave of learning and workforce innovation. It’s a meaningful milestone—not just because it’s competitive, but because it reflects a growing demand for training that’s measurable, job-aligned, and designed for real performance.
Big thanks to the ecosystem and community that supports this work: ASUGSVSummit and the GSV Cup 50 sponsors AWS, GSV Ventures, and Pearson.
What do the “Blair Witch Project,” Madden NFL video games, and groundbreaking artificial intelligence and virtual reality technology all have in common?
The answer: Robin Cowie, founder and CEO of Skillmaker and a master of immersive, first-person point-of-view experiences. Skillmaker is the latest arrival to Wilmington’s blossoming tech industry, and uses cutting-edge digital experiences to address issues in the automotive industry. The result? An entirely revamped automotive ecosystem that stretches from high schools to board rooms to cultivate a higher return on investment, not just for companies, but for workers as well.
The company has already raised $2.5 million (well surpassing its $1.5 million goal) and has major support from NAPA Auto Parts, and it recently presented its product at the Automotive Service & Tire Alliance (ASTA) Expo in September 2025.
Robin Cowie has been on the road constantly for the last three months, criss-crossing the country to meet with investors and large corporations who are trying to figure out the future of work.
His startup, Skillmaker, is addressing skilled labor needs through its AI-powered and XR-focused workforce development platform. The goal is to cut training time down for skilled labor-strapped industries, like auto technician training.
That time on the road and away from his home base in Wilmington, North Carolina, has been fruitful for Cowie and the Skillmaker team, as they recently announced the close of their pre-seed round of investment.
Honoring Labor Day by Building AI solutions for Auto‑Technicians.
As Labor Day approaches, Skillmaker has announced the close of its $2.5M pre-seed funding round. Filmed at the historic Henry Ford Museum, the announcement links Ford’s 1913 assembly line revolution—cutting Model T production to 90 minutes and doubling wages—to Skillmaker’s mission to revolutionize how quickly skilled technicians are trained.
Skillmaker’s AI‑driven immersive training powers the NAPA Autotech XcceleratoR, a collaboration with Genuine Parts Company and NAPA Auto Parts.
Two decades ago, Wilmington’s tech scene had a much different landscape.
“There was not much advocacy before 2013, not many people in the room,” said Jim Roberts, founder of Network for Entrepreneurs in Wilmington (NEW) and Wilmington Angels for Local Entrepreneurs (WALE).
2013 marked the start of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, headed at the time by Roberts.
Fast forward to 2025, and Wilmington is landing on national and global lists of rising tech ecosystems because of strides made to foster that ecosystem, officials say.
As part of its efforts to grow and raise capital, AI platform Skillmaker.ai has landed several contracts and partnerships, including its most recent partnership with Cape Fear Ventures.
The startup accelerates the time it takes to train people to competency, according to Robin Cowie, Skillmaker.ai’s founder and CEO.
Known for his work on The Blair Witch Project and Madden Football games, Robin Cowie is now transforming how technicians are trained. He emphasized the indispensable role of human creativity alongside technology, highlighting a dynamic shift in the industry’s approach to workforce training.
Grep-a-Palooza 2025 featured a live podcast session featuring Jenn Summe of Primordial Ventures and Melissa Crosby of Colopy Ventures. The duo interviewed Robin Cowie, CEO and Founder of Skillmaker.AI, delving into the intersection of artificial intelligence, extended reality and industrial training.
Robin Cowie, renowned for his role as the producer of The Blair Witch Project and his contributions to several Madden Football video games, is now at the forefront of innovative learning solutions. His company, Skillmaker.AI, is revolutionizing the way technicians are trained in the industrial sector by leveraging AI and extended reality (XR).
A Carolina Beach-based startup, Skillmaker.ai, can cut down the time it takes to train an auto technician from two years to just 25 days, according to the company’s founder and CEO Robin Cowie.
The platform uses extended reality (XR), including immersive technologies like virtual reality and mixed reality, to train workers. Skillmaker.ai won the Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) Venture Connect pitch contest in the AI and Machine Learning category in Raleigh on Thursday.
The startup also launched its website on Thursday and, earlier this week, was named a semi-finalist in NC IDEA’s spring 2025 SEED grant cycle.
Wilmington’s startup scene took center stage at the annual investor Buzz In. Wilmington ranks as the top small city worldwide for startups, according to StartupBlink, thanks to its supportive environment for emerging businesses.
Wilmington’s status as a top startup ecosystem was highlighted by the recent annual investor Buzz In held last week. Hosted by The Network for Entrepreneurs in Wilmington, the event attracted investors, startups and industry leaders.
According to the Global Startup Ecosystem Index by StartupBlink, Wilmington ranks #1 in the world for small cities with populations under 300,000 and #2 in North Carolina.
The event, which took place on May 16 at Cape Fear Community College, featured a packed agenda, including insightful discussions and networking opportunities for attendees. Keynote speakers and panels explored various themes in innovation and investment, focusing on the region’s potential.
A film and digital marketing veteran builds a Wilmington enterprise to train auto mechanics, construction workers and others.
Robin Cowie made his mark in the entertainment/media world, producing the indie classic film “The Blair Witch Project” in 1999 and later helping bring major video games like Madden NFL to life. Now, as the CEO of the Wilmington-based educational technology startup Skillmaker.AI, he is focused on shaping the future. Specifically, the future of work.
“I’ve been very blessed and very fortunate to have a great career in entertainment, but this is probably the most important thing that I’ve ever done in my life,” he says.
Skillmaker.AI is a workforce training platform using AI-powered extended reality technology for…
The National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) recognizes the new NAPA Autotech XcceleratoR program as a pathway toward significantly reducing the ASE standard work experience requirement. A year-long data-gathering and validation period began in April and will help ASE determine how best to integrate immersive XcceleratoR training into its certification framework.
The NAPA Autotech XcceleratoR program is powered by Skillmaker, an AI-driven XR (extended reality) workforce development platform, and was created to help address the industry’s urgent skilled labor shortage. The XcceleratoR program aims to reduce technician training time from years to weeks by combining first-person immersive simulations and AI-driven feedback.
NC IDEA, a private foundation committed to supporting entrepreneurial ambition and economic empowerment in North Carolina, announced today that the organization has awarded $150,000 to fifteen North Carolina startups in its fourteenth NC IDEA MICRO grant cycle. Since the inaugural cycle in 2018, NC IDEA MICRO has awarded over $2 million to 224 young companies across the state.
Through small, project-based grants, NC IDEA MICRO awards $10,000 in funding to young companies looking to validate and advance their idea. In addition to the funding, grant recipients participate in an eight-week customer discovery and product launch program. The MICRO program was piloted in Spring 2018 as the Foundation made a commitment that no less than half of NC IDEA programmatic and funding resources would be in service to under-served communities. Without compromising its established evaluation criteria, the MICRO grant leveraged the proven model and playbook of the Foundation’s long-standing $50K SEED grant program to serve more North Carolina startups and significantly increased access to resources, funding, and opportunities for diverse entrepreneurial communities across the state.
Robin Cowie made his mark on the entertainment/media world, producing the indie classic film The Blair Witch Project in 1999 and later bringing major video games like Madden NFL to life. But now as the CEO of the EdTech (education technology) startup Skillmaker AI, he is focused on shaping the future. Specifically, the future of work.
“I’ve been very blessed and very fortunate to have a great career in entertainment, but this is probably the most important thing that I’ve ever done in my life,” he told Hypepotamus.
Skillmaker AI is a workforce training platform using AI-powered XR (extended reality) technology for vocational training and skill development. The startup delivers “just-in-time” lessons for workers looking to break into or level up in automation, industrial, or construction sectors, which are all facing critical labor shortages.
CAROLINA BEACH, NC (WWAY) — Robin Cowie is the Founder and CEO behind Skillmaker.ai. The Carolina Beach-based company is using virtual and augmented reality to train auto technicians.
Cowie’s Career began as a producer on the Blair Witch Project before he eventually made it to the video game industry, helping create games like NFL Madden.
Cowie said he began thinking about how virtual reality could be used in real-world applications while he was in video game development at Electronic Arts.
“I really started figuring out that virtual reality could be the most amazing way to completely step into the shoes of a professional and for people to learn basically by doing instead of being told what to do,” Cowie explained….
A Carolina Beach-based startup, Skillmaker.ai, can cut down the time it takes to train an auto technician from two years to just 25 days, according to the company’s founder and CEO Robin Cowie.
The platform uses extended reality (XR), including immersive technologies like virtual reality and mixed reality, to train workers. Skillmaker.ai won the Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) Venture Connect pitch contest in the AI and Machine Learning category in Raleigh on Thursday.
The startup also launched its website on Thursday and, earlier this week, was named a semi-finalist in NC IDEA’s spring 2025 SEED grant…
Three film students met their maker when they went looking for the legendary Blair Witch in 1999, and the world believed the resulting film was comprised of real found footage.
Over two decades later, after an illustrious career in filmmaking and video game development, producer Robin Cowie has left horror behind for another avenue of first-person storytelling: extended reality training.
Cowie founded Skillmaker.AI in 2023. The Wilmington-based company aims to equip workers for skilled jobs at a faster rate than other training programs by incorporating data and AI….
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