MyBuddy.ai, a startup developing tools to help kids learn English, has raised $1 million in seed funding, backed by LETA Capital.
The firm, based in San Francisco, has developed an AI virtual tutor called Buddy, which coaches kids learning English through a series of lessons.
According to MyBuddy.ai, there are 500 million children around the world who want to learn English, but don't have anybody to practice with.
The online language learning market is also projected to be worth more than $5 billion worldwide by 2024, according to analysis by Meticulous Research.
"The demand for online education is rising sharply due to the pandemic," said cofounder and CEO Ivan Crewkov.
"This has exacerbated the chronic shortage of qualified English language teachers needed for half a billion kids struggling to learn English as a second language.
"Our AI-powered tutor Buddy can handle the mundane part of their work. He provides unlimited practice of spoken English, can scale to millions of students and is always available."
We got an exclusive look at a redacted copy of MyBuddy.ai's pitch deck:
