RedThread Research State of L&D 2026: High-Performing Organizations Are Rewriting How L&D Works

New 2026 L&D trends study: Strategic Influence Is Down for the Third Straight Round, but the Top 25% Tell a Different Story 

WOODSIDE, Calif., June 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A new study from RedThread Research finds that the learning technology market has fundamentally shifted since 2023, moving away from content creation and delivery and toward measurement, performance, and skills. According to the research, Analytics & Measurement is now the top primary functionality among vendors at 83%, up from 33% in 2023, while Content Creation dropped from the #1 spot to fifth. At the same time, AI adoption has gone from partial to almost universal, with just 2% of vendors reporting no AI usage, down from 24% three years ago.

Now in its fourth iteration, the study draws on a proprietary database of 461 learning technology vendors, up from 426 in 2023. It highlights that the single-purpose learning tech provider has all but disappeared: vendors offering just 1 to 5 functionalities now represent 1% of the market, down from 27% in 2023 and 52% in 2021. Meanwhile, 43% of vendors now offer 21+ functionalities, and the market has tracked over 80 acquisitions since 2023, outpacing the roughly 70 mapped in the previous cycle. The result is a market where vendors are doing more than ever — but increasingly looking the same.

"The market has gotten broader, bolder, and blurrier," said Dani Johnson, Co-founder and Principal Analyst at RedThread Research. "Vendors are building more, claiming more, and converging on the same positioning. The market continues to sound alike, and the real differences between vendors now live in places that feature lists and marketing pitches don't always reach."

The report also surfaces a growing disconnect between what vendors are building and how they talk about it. A semantic analysis across five dimensions of vendor messaging found that 69% of vendors cluster into one archetype: multi-purpose L&D platforms. On the buyer side, the user base is widening: Operations, Sales, and IT are all emerging as meaningful user groups alongside traditional L&D and HR, signaling that learning technology is increasingly being positioned as a workforce enablement tool rather than something that lives exclusively within HR.

"Everyone is building everything, and it's partially due to AI helping vendors build faster," said Chief Etheridge, Senior Analyst at RedThread Research. "But breadth on a feature list and depth in execution are two different things. The organizations and vendors that will do well in this environment are the ones who can be specific about what outcomes they deliver, not just what they offer."

Explore the Insight Further: Sign up for RedThread Research membership to access the full report.

Join the RedThread Community: In a landscape defined by rapid change, staying ahead requires access to the right insights and expertise. Companies and individuals can explore these findings further by joining the RedThread research community or the Tech Consortium. Visit http://www.redthreadresearch.com or email [email protected] for more information.

Research Sponsored by the RedThread Tech Consortium

This research report was sponsored by the RedThread Research Tech Consortium, a growing community that remains focused on underwriting high-quality, unbiased market research. Consortium member organizations collaborate with RedThread to push the boundaries of people analytics technology and contribute to cutting-edge research. Current Tech Consortium members include: Absorb, Betterworks, ClearCo, Cornerstone, Culture Amp, Docebo, Eightfold, Hi Bob, HRBench, Ingentis, Lightcast, LYTIQS, Medallia, OpenSesame, Perceptyx, QuestionPro, Revelio Labs, TechWolf, Tekstac, UKG, Visier, Workday, and Workera.

About RedThread Research

At RedThread Research, we get it.

Sure, we're experts in performance, people analytics, learning, and D&I – and we're well-versed in the technologies that support them. But we're also truth-seekers and storytellers in an industry often short on substance, and too full of #!%. Our mission (indeed, our very reason for existing) is to cut through the noise and amplify what's good. We look for the connections (or red threads) between people, data, and ideas – even among seemingly unrelated concepts. The result is high-quality, unbiased, transformative foresight that helps you build a stronger business.

To learn more, visit http://www.redthreadresearch.com   

SOURCE RedThread Research