Conventional classroom instruction follows a one-size-fits-all mannequin the place academics design classes for the median scholar, leaving superior learners unchallenged and struggling college students with out enough assist. This structural limitation has lengthy prevented schooling from delivering on its promise of assembly every scholar the place they’re, forcing academics to decide on between personalised consideration and overlaying required materials. Whereas AI promised to unravel this personalization drawback, early implementations usually undermined studying by offering direct solutions slightly than fostering real understanding and important considering. Flint addresses these challenges by constructing an AI-native schooling platform designed from the bottom up with educators, not retrofitted from present instruments. Via real-time scholar analytics, adaptive studying actions, and clear AI interactions that academics can monitor reside, the platform allows personalised instruction throughout all topics whereas lowering trainer workload slightly than including to it. Already powering 400,000+ customers throughout a whole bunch of main unbiased faculties within the US and internationally, Flint lately partnered with Cognita to deploy its platform to 95,000 college students throughout 110 faculties, demonstrating scalable adoption that enhances conventional instruction with out disrupting classroom dynamics.
AlleyWatch sat down with Flint Cofounder and CEO Sohan Choudhury to be taught extra in regards to the enterprise, its future plans, current funding spherical that brings complete funding to $16.7M, and far, far more…
Who have been your traders and the way a lot did you increase?
We raised a $15M Collection A co-led by Foundation Set Ventures and Patron. The spherical included participation from USC Viterbi, AME Cloud Ventures and notable schooling leaders together with Matt Pittinsky, cofounder of Blackboard, with follow-on investments from Afore Capital and Y Combinator.
Inform us in regards to the services or products that Flint gives.
Flint is an AI-powered schooling platform remodeling how college students be taught and academics train. It empowers educators to personalize instruction for each scholar – not simply to the median degree – with out rising their workload. Academics can view reside scholar periods, monitor particular person strengths and areas for enchancment, and design interactive studying experiences. College students can get talking apply for a whole bunch of languages, role-play in historic simulations, code alongside an AI collaborator, and create their very own studying actions. Flint brings curiosity, company, and personalization into the classroom.
What impressed the beginning of Flint?
We based Flint as a result of we noticed that whereas many instruments declare to personalize studying, few are constructed from the bottom up in shut collaboration with faculties and academics. We knew AI had potential for 1:1 tutoring, but in addition noticed the chance of scholars being handed solutions slightly than creating their studying. Our personal experiences confirmed us how damaged the present system can really feel – the place success is the exception, not the rule. Partnering with faculties early on, we constructed a platform that retains the teacher-student relationship central whereas utilizing AI to amplify impression.
How is Flint completely different?
Flint is AI-native, not retrofitted. It’s constructed for faculties, with educators, to personalize studying at scale. It doesn’t substitute academics or add complexity – it offers them superpowers. As extra faculties be a part of, Flint evolves right into a residing ecosystem the place academics share greatest practices, college students create and collaborate, and the platform will get smarter with each interplay.
What market does Flint goal and the way large is it?
Flint targets the worldwide Okay-12 schooling market. The platform is already utilized by a whole bunch of main unbiased faculties throughout america and internationally, supporting greater than 400,000 customers and over 150,000 AI-powered studying actions. A current partnership with Cognita brings Flint to 95,000 college students throughout 110 faculties.
What’s your online business mannequin?
Flint operates with each a free-tier entry level (enabling particular person academics or small pilots) and paid college/district licenses. The paid plans unlock options reminiscent of roster integrations, full analytics, devoted assist and scale past the pilot. This enables us to accomplice deeply with faculties, scale throughout their communities, and align pricing with person depend and utilization.
How are you getting ready for a possible financial slowdown?
We’ve designed Flint to be resilient and accessible. Faculties can begin utilizing Flint without charge, with the choice to scale by paid licensing as their wants develop. As a result of we construct carefully with educators and present measurable impression, faculties see Flint as a strategic funding.
What was the funding course of like?
The funding course of mirrored the robust momentum we have been seeing in faculties. Flint was already in use at a whole bunch of faculties, with a rising group of greater than 400,000 academics and college students. Our mission and early traction resonated with traders who noticed the chance to construct a brand new product class for AI-native studying. As a part of our Collection A, we’re excited to deliver on new traders who share our imaginative and prescient for personalizing studying – together with two dad and mom of scholars who use Flint at their faculties.
What are the most important challenges that you just confronted whereas elevating capital?
Some could assume that the most important problem of creating an AI edtech product is convincing academics that AI ought to be used within the classroom. It’s true that AI adoption in schooling requires the extra accountability of offering complete skilled improvement, AI literacy assets, and 1:1 assist. Nonetheless, we’ve discovered that it’s really academics who ask for us to push out extra options, turn out to be extra modern, and roll out to extra grade ranges at their college.
The most important problem, arguably, was that almost all of traders have preconceived notions in regards to the potential scalability of an schooling product. I don’t blame them: traditionally, only a few edtech corporations have been venture-scale success tales. They don’t have sufficient information factors to have our degree of conviction, which was strengthened solely from being on the bottom speaking to academics and constructing quickly.
We overcame this hurdle by demonstrating our fast progress (e.g. doubling income within the final 6 months) and displaying how AI can be utilized to construct adaptive studying software program that was beforehand not possible to construct. We’re grateful that our traders–whether or not it’s our early believers like Y Combinator or Afore Capital or our new traders together with Foundation Set, Patron, and Matt Pittinsky (cofounder of Blackboard)—see the impression, potential, and international scalability of an edtech product like Flint.
What components about your online business led your traders to write down the test?
The PC reply? That traders have been drawn to our mixture of cutting-edge know-how, deep mission alignment, and talent to deal with the long-standing hole in Okay-12 schooling by delivering personalised studying at scale with out creating further burden for academics.
The extra real looking cause here’s a mixture of income, product-market match, and scalability: our progress has been nice (e.g. doubling income within the final 6 months) and we demonstrated how Flint might be a big enterprise, each by displaying how broadly our product is getting used and the way a lot faculties love utilizing Flint.
The extra real looking cause here’s a mixture of income, product-market match, and scalability: our progress has been nice (e.g. doubling income within the final 6 months) and we demonstrated how Flint might be a big enterprise, each by displaying how broadly our product is getting used and the way a lot faculties love utilizing Flint.
What are the milestones you propose to attain within the subsequent six months?
We plan to increase product improvement, scale Flint to hundreds of thousands of scholars globally, and proceed rising partnerships with faculties and networks that share our imaginative and prescient for personalised studying.
What recommendation are you able to provide corporations in New York that would not have a contemporary injection of capital within the financial institution?
Early on, we discovered how necessary it’s to remain near our customers. A few of our greatest product choices got here from displaying up in particular person, like flying out on red-eyes to satisfy with faculties and hearken to academics instantly. That degree of closeness has formed how we construct Flint and the way we develop.
The place do you see the corporate going now over the close to time period?
Flint is getting into a interval of accelerated progress. We’re centered on scaling adoption in faculties globally, persevering with to construct the very best AI-native studying platform, and guaranteeing each trainer and scholar has entry to personalised, clear and equitable AI within the classroom.
What’s your favourite fall vacation spot in and across the metropolis?
The Flint Workplace.
You’re seconds away from signing up for the most popular checklist in NYC Tech!
Join at this time
