Thrive wins Office Depot deal as it opens Austin base

British tech firm Thrive has signed a five-year deal to roll out its AI-powered learning platform to 18,000 Office Depot staff across the U.S. The win comes as Thrive opens a new headquarters in Austin and pushes deeper into North America.

Why it matters: - Thrive’s Office Depot deal gives the Nottingham-founded company a marquee U.S. customer as it scales in North America. - The rollout puts Thrive’s AI-powered learning platform in front of 18,000 employees across one of the country’s best-known retail brands. - The agreement underscores rising demand from large employers for tools that combine training, knowledge access and workplace communications in one system.

What happened: - Thrive signed a five-year partnership with Office Depot. - Office Depot will deploy Thrive’s AI-powered Learning Management System across its U.S. workforce. - Thrive is opening a new U.S. headquarters in Austin, Texas. - Thrive founder and CEO Sean Reddington is relocating to the U.S. with his family to lead the expansion. - The platform is scheduled to launch in early 2027.

The details: - Office Depot will launch a mobile app for staff to access training, company knowledge and career development resources. - The platform will support employees in stores, sales operations, distribution centres and corporate offices. - Thrive’s system will integrate with Office Depot’s existing Oracle systems. - The platform is designed to bring training, onboarding, knowledge management and professional development into one place. - Employees will be able to access learning materials, share knowledge with colleagues and track qualifications and certifications. - Thrive’s technology includes Kiki, an AI assistant that helps employees find answers to workplace questions. - The platform also can help businesses create training content, analyze learning data and provide personalized support.

Between the lines: - Thrive is moving from selling into the U.S. market to building a local presence with leadership, staff and infrastructure on the ground. - Austin’s “Silicon Hills” brand gives Thrive a tech-heavy base in a city that has attracted major companies for decades. - The Office Depot win adds to Thrive’s client list, which already includes BA, Vodafone, Aston Martin F1, Pret A Manger and Burger King. - Thrive said the expansion reflects a broader shift by enterprises toward AI-first learning tools over traditional training systems. - The company was ranked among the nation’s fastest-growing tech companies by the FT last month. - Thrive, founded in Nottingham in 2019, says it has grown into a £250 million business. - The company is also recruiting staff, strengthening its customer support and enterprise teams, and expanding operations in Canada. - The Canadian team already includes employees in product development, customer success and technical support.

What's next: - Thrive will hire more staff as part of its U.S. expansion. - The Austin headquarters will serve as a base for deeper North American customer support. - Office Depot’s rollout will begin in early 2027. - Thrive is betting that more large employers will move from legacy learning systems to AI-driven platforms.

The bottom line: - Thrive is using a major U.S. customer and a new Austin HQ to turn North American growth into a longer-term business foothold.