Artificial Intelligence

Across our investment areas, NewSchools funds early-stage ventures that use AI to improve teaching and learning. We believe AI is most powerful when grounded in research, co-created with educators, and designed for real classrooms.

Table of Contents

2025 Investments

Impact Highlight

What We’re Learning

Venture Spotlight

2025 Ventures

2025 Investments

In 2025, we expanded our AI portfolio by investing in 22 new ventures, bringing the total to 47 AI-powered solutions supported since 2019. Outside of our schools portfolio, 70% of funded ventures leverage AI to improve outcomes for students furthest from opportunity. We also launched the GenAI Math Tutoring Program, which provides research & development support for developers to keep quality, evidence, and inclusion at the center of their design.

$4.9M

invested

22

funded ventures

53%

led by former educators

Impact Highlight

AI-enabled solutions with rigorous evidence reported a 13% increase in K-8 reading and math achievement on average.

What We’re Learning

  • AI works best when designed for people, not efficiency

    AI can reduce administrative burdens, strengthen instructional feedback loops, and help educators focus on what matters most: inspiring curiosity, building relationships, and helping every student believe in their potential.

  • Early-stage pilots can drive evidence-based design

    As interest in AI grows, there is an opportunity to rethink how early-stage education research drives impact and growth. By combining user-centered design and classroom pilots with tools like AI benchmarking, ventures can generate decision-relevant evidence earlier, more safely, and at lower cost.

  • AI can support deeper thinking and learning

    GenAI math tutoring is shifting from a focus on procedural correctness toward supporting deeper, more holistic student learning. Ventures that attend to how students think and learn, not just the steps they take, are well positioned to redefine effective math support and drive more equitable impact at scale.

Venture Spotlight

The image displays a logo with a speech bubble containing the letters 'AI' and a sigma symbol, accompanied by the text 'ALTER-Math' beneath it.

What if the Best Way To Learn Math Is To Teach It?

For many students, math becomes something to memorize and move past. Research suggests deeper learning happens when students explain ideas and teach others. ALTER-Math was built on that insight.

Developed by researchers at the University of Utah in collaboration with multiple institutions in the U.S., ALTER-Math invites students to teach a simple AI agent what they know. As students explain concepts and correct misunderstandings, the agent updates its knowledge in real time. This process encourages reflection, conceptual understanding, and active learning. 

Led by Dr. Chenglu Li, whose own learning was shaped by teaching peers, the team has aligned ALTER-Math with Math Nation, a widely used, standards-aligned curriculum. In early pilots with tens of thousands of students, those using the teachable agent showed nearly 50% greater learning gains than peers using traditional tools.

ALTER-Math is designed with access in mind. The tool is offered at no cost, with plans to open-source the technology so others can build on it. As states explore how to use AI responsibly in classrooms, ALTER-Math offers a model that supports learning by putting students in the role of active thinkers and teachers.

Blue background with white text stating '1.5x greater learning gains across 50,000+ students using ALTER-Math'. Small icon of a person planting a flag on a hill in the top left corner.

2025 AI-Powered Ventures

  • YDSL logo with the letters Y and S in blue, D in orange, surrounded by a black border.

  • Logo for Step Up Tutoring with a blue square and staircase graphic, and text 'Step Up Tutoring'

  • Black background with the University of Colorado logo in the bottom left corner.

  • Logo for Uprooted Academy featuring a stylized eagle and the text 'Uprooted Academy' in teal.

  • Logo for Magpie Literacy featuring a stylized open book with a droplet shape above it, in blue, with the text "Magpie Literacy" below.

  • Logo for Lexsee, a digital learning platform, featuring a stylized blue rabbit and the text 'Lexsee Digital Learning Companion' in blue.

  • Black background with blue text reading 'Vinn Labs LLC'.

  • The Thinkverse logo with the word 'THINKVERSE' in bold blue letters on a black background.

  • UnboundEd logo with purple background and white text.

  • A logo with the word 'snorkl' in purple lowercase letters and three bubbles ascending above the letter 'l'. This suggests a connection to snorkeling or underwater activities.

  • The word 'UPPERCASE' written in black, bold, uppercase letters on a white background.

  • The logo of the University of Utah featuring a red interlocked U and U with the text "The University of Utah" underneath.

  • A cartoon illustration of a rocket ship taking off, with pink, purple, and blue colors, and small clouds of smoke at the base.

  • UCLA logo with an open book illustration behind the yellow and blue text.

  • Logo of Brain Science Works with a colorful brain illustration and text 'Brain Science Works' and 'Neuroscience-Driven Education'.

  • Logo of Google Workspace with icons representing Gmail, Calendar, and Meet in abstract shapes and colors.

  • Journify logo with a paper airplane and the tagline "Your AI Assistant for Special Education."

  • Colorful word 'Emote' with each letter in a different color and pattern, on a black background.

  • Indigitize logo with stylized geometric symbol and the word 'INDIGITIZE' in uppercase letters.

  • Logo with a green waving hand and the word 'Goblins' in green text.

  • Logo for City Schools Collaborative with a stylized pencil and circle icon, and text in bold blue font.

  • Green cloud icon with the text 'GroKko' in green and gray colors.

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