An adaptive AI study platform has been sold to a US company just a year after its founders graduated.
Ben Ward, 23, and Jonathan Graham, 24, founded StudyStash while studying computer science at the University of Birmingham to turn their own course notes into study materials. They also worked together on PwC’s technology degree apprenticeship.
The platform – which uses neuroscience to supercharge learning – has been acquired by EdTech leader Kortext for an undisclosed figure which reports suggest is in eight figures – i.e. at least $10 million.
Ward and Graham will remain as CEO and CTO respectively, and continue to lead StudyStash as a distinct brand. The pair is relocating to Silicon Valley.
StudyStash now plugs directly into the world’s biggest learning systems, including Canvas, Blackboard and Moodle. Using existing course material, it builds personalised flashcards, practice tests, podcasts and more that adapt as the student learns, with insights that help institutions see how learning is happening across their whole student body.
The platform is now used by tens of thousands of students across 160+ institutions in the UK, Europe, US and Africa. This includes some of North America’s biggest higher education systems – California State University, Minnesota State and Colorado State – plus a partnership with California’s 2.2m-student community college system.
Other partners include Finland’s University of Oulu and the RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, where StudyStash has supported the training of 1,000 surgeons across 15 African countries. At one university in Washington state, drop-out rates among StudyStash students fell to zero compared with a 16% rate among non-users.
StudyStash also partners with EAB, the US consultancy working with 2,800+ higher education institutions worldwide to improve enrolment, retention and student success, and its advisory board includes senior figures from UCL, Imperial College London and the University of Oxford.
Acquirer Kortext was founded in 2013 and works with thousands of universities worldwide, helping enhance teaching, learning and student engagement through digital content, analytics and AI-powered workflow solutions.
“We started StudyStash to solve our own problem but quickly realised we’d created a tool that could make a real difference to thousands of learners,” said Ward. “We had so much traction that it was an easy decision to turn this into our first venture, and StudyStash was born.
“Since launch, we’ve raised equity finance, scaled to 160+ institutions on three continents, broken into the US market and now been acquired by one of the largest e-learning providers in the field.
“We’ve proven we can build, sell and scale and now Kortext gives us the reach to drive StudyStash to reach its full potential.”
Before StudyStash, both founders had run their own businesses: Graham through Nucleus Consulting, and Ward through Silicon Square. The idea moved from side project to company through the University of Birmingham’s incubator programme, Elevate.
The University of Birmingham became StudyStash’s first customer, before the platform expanded to schools and colleges across England, including St. Mary’s University, Loughborough University and City St George’s.
Graham added: “Universities set a high bar, and we built StudyStash to meet it from day one. That’s been central to how quickly we’ve grown: combining the speed of a startup with the standards institutions expect of an established partner.
“With Kortext, we can be even more ambitious. We’re bringing our product and pace of development together with its experience, reputation and reach, giving us the backing to build faster and take StudyStash to many more universities.”
James Gray, founder and CEO of Kortext said: “We believe the future of educational AI lies in solutions that institutions can trust and that genuinely improve learning outcomes. StudyStash brings powerful capabilities that complement our existing strengths and accelerate our AI strategy, while extending our reach further into teaching and learning workflows.
“Together, we will help institutions embrace AI responsibly, support educators more effectively, and create richer, more personalised learning experiences that help students achieve their full potential.”