Education software specialist Gecko Labs has secured a £1m investment to push its new technology and support global growth. The Edinburgh-based firm is in the process of rolling out an innovate new live chat system, Gecko Chat, which connects universities and potential students in North America.

Gecko Chat provides university staff with a unified inbox that allows them to manage and respond to conversations happening across their websites, Social media, SMS, and email without having to log into multiple systems.

As a result of the backing from both existing and new angel investors, Gecko will create around 10 new positions to support its business growth and increased demand for its products.

Matt Lanham, founder and CEO of Gecko Labs, said: “Instant messaging platforms are where students are spending more of their time, and that’s only going to increase with the rise of conversational user interfaces. Managing conversations across multiple networks is a nightmare for staff at the moment, and Gecko Chat fixes that by giving them a single login that allows for conversations to be managed regardless of the network that the student chooses.”

Founded in 2012, Gecko Labs currently employs 20 staff with the goal of providing a range of products that deliver greater efficiency, and improved results throughout the student recruitment process. As part of this funding round, the firm will be opening an office in London to allow it to accelerate growth in the UK, with a US office expected later in the year.

This round was led by Andrew Weisz, of Weisz Investments, and Tom Singh, founder of the New Look fashion chain.

Lanham added: “To date, we have helped our clients capture more than one million enquiries from students and this funding will allow us to continue building further innovative products to support our clients and fuel our growth.

“Whilst there are hundreds of start-ups focusing on bringing innovation to the classroom, the universities’ back offices have been left behind with ageing software that doesn’t meet the needs of today’s student. Gecko is changing that, building innovative products that meet the real challenges university staff are facing and ultimately giving them the super powers they need to get their jobs done.”

Weisz said: “Their products, particularly the live chat system, are relevant to all universities and colleges and by investing in the company we believe we will be giving Matt and his team the tools they need to grow into new markets. With a number of North American and Chinese institutions already working with Gecko Labs, the company will use the funding to continue scaling product sales internationally.”