A British tech entrepreneur has set his sights on US expansion with a new base in ‘Silicon Hills’ for his £250 million online learning business.

Sean Reddington, 43, from Nottingham, UK, is founder and co-CEO of global AI-powered firm Thrive, an innovative Learning Management System used by household names like Vodafone, BA and Aston Martin.

‘Great British Success Story’ [1] Thrive will have US tech titans Apple, Google, Meta, Tesla and Amazon as neighbours after founding an office in Austin, Texas – dubbed Silicon Hills.

The father-of-three will be moving with his wife and young children to the Texas state capital – with a population of nearly a million people.

Sean will use the new Austin base to grow the business, expand its client base and work with some of America’s most iconic tech and AI firms.

Thrive has created its own AI agent called Kiki that users call on for help with discovery, content creation, learning recommendations, coaching and bespoke quizzes.

Launched in 2019, Thrive was named by the FT as one of Europe’s fastest-growing tech firms [2] this year, and among the Sunday Times’ top 50 fastest-growing tech firms in 2025.

Sean said: “Britain is a fantastic testbed and launchpad.  We built a thriving business here with incredible talent and loyal customers.

“But to hit world scaling size, we have to look globally. Our move to Austin is about seizing a massive growth opportunity.

“The US market is vast, fast moving, and ready for a fresh approach to learning tech. In the US, big ambition is applauded.

“Sadly, in the UK, we can sometimes be a bit overly cautious or cynical about big dreams –  that American hunger to back new, disruptive ideas makes the market incredible to sell in to.”