New Research: 77% of Executives Say Managers Are Prepared to Guide AI Skills Development, While 91% of Employees Disagree
Acorn, the AI-powered performance enablement learning management platform, today released The 2026 State of Learning for AI Fluency Report, revealing a significant disconnect in organizational AI readiness across a survey of more than 1,200 professionals. While 77% of executives believe their managers are prepared to guide AI skills development, 91% of employees say their managers lack that preparation. This structural disconnect explains why organizations are not seeing meaningful gains in skills despite heavy investment in AI training. The study shows that this manager preparedness failure sits at the intersection of three interconnected challenges: organizations lack role-level capability standards, managers lack the frameworks and confidence to guide development conversations, and employees are losing faith that either will change.
Acorn Secures $12.3 Million to Reimagine Workforce Development with AI
Acorn, the AI-powered performance and learning management platform, today announced its $12.3 million USD Series A funding round led by Level Equity. This investment will accelerate Acorn’s geographic expansion, enhance product development and grow strategic partnerships. The company also launched Capabilities AI, new software that automatically maps capabilities frameworks to job descriptions and creates personalized career development plans in minutes rather than months.
Performance Review Crisis: 80% of Leaders Say Employees Must Quit to Advance
Acorn, the AI-powered performance and learning management platform, today announced findings from the “2025 Corporate Performance and Learning Survey” revealing that performance reviews are not just broken, they are driving talent out the door.
