Scott Galloway's latest venture is betting big on a proficiency crisis most companies haven't yet acknowledged: their employees don't know how to use the AI tools being rushed into production.
Section, the workforce transformation platform co-founded by the NYU marketing professor and media personality, disclosed a $3.15 million funding round in a July 13 SEC filing—structured as debt with warrants and representing roughly a third of a $10 million raise that appears to still be in motion. Six investors participated, according to the filing, which shows an initial close in late June.
The timing isn't accidental. Section's own research, released in July, paints a stark picture: just 5.5 percent of today's workforce meets what the company defines as AI proficiency standards. That's a rounding error in the context of enterprise adoption, where AI agents are being deployed across operations at a pace that far outstrips employee readiness.
It's a gap others have noted. Microsoft's Work Trend Index from this spring and PwC's Global AI Jobs Barometer—both published within weeks of Section's report—underscore the same anxiety: companies are moving faster than their people can adapt.
A Familiar Playbook, New Stakes
Section isn't entirely new to the upskilling game. Founded in 2019 as Section4, the company rebranded three years ago under the shortened name and has spent the intervening years building what it calls Section HQ—a platform that measures AI adoption within organizations, tracks usage and proficiency, and translates those metrics into what the company describes as "transformation playbooks."
Think of it as diagnostic software layered with prescription: the platform identifies where employees struggle, then routes them toward coaching, courses, and certification programs Section has built in-house. Strategy consulting sits on top for organizations serious about rearchitecting workflows around AI.
CEO Greg Shove, who previously founded SocialChorus (later renamed FirstUp after securing a $100 million investment several years back), runs what LinkedIn suggests is a team somewhere between 11 and 50 employees. The company has also made a play for visibility, convening more than 100,000 attendees across AI-focused events last year. This year's lineup includes the AI Leadership Summit and AI:ROI Conference, both scheduled for the summer and fall.
Section's stated ambition, per its LinkedIn mission, is to get "one million knowledge workers into the AI class." It's an audacious figure—perhaps more audacious than the founders expected when they set it—but the market dynamics might be working in their favor.
The Money and What It Signals
The company's previous funding came in 2021: a $30 million Series A led by General Catalyst, with participation from Learn Capital and GSV Ventures. Board membership, as listed in the recent filing, includes Galloway, Shove, General Catalyst's Larry Bohn, and former CBS and Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes—alongside Paul Sagan and Katherine Dillon.
As of mid-July, roughly $6.85 million of the current offering remained unsold. No valuation has been disclosed, and the filing offers no detail on how Section plans to deploy the capital. What's clear, though, is the thesis: AI deployment is outpacing readiness by a wide margin, and someone needs to close the gap at scale.
Whether Section becomes that someone remains to be seen. But the proficiency crisis is real, the corporate appetite for solutions is growing, and Galloway—never one to miss a narrative—has positioned himself at the center of both.
