AI-powered edtech startup SigIQ.ai has raised $9.5 million in a seed funding round. The round was co-led by The House Fund and GSV Ventures, with participation from Duolingo, General Catalyst India (Venture Highway), Peak XV Partners, and Calibrate Ventures. Angel investors included co-founders and executives from Perplexity, Turnitin, and professors from UC Berkeley, MIT, and Princeton.
Founded by Professor Kurt Keutzer and AI researcher Dr. Karttikeya Mangalam, the California and Gurugram-based startup aims to offer personalized one-on-one tutoring at the cost of computation instead of expensive human instruction.
The funding will be used to expand SigIQ.ai’s flagship products: PadhAI, designed for India’s UPSC civil services exam, and EverTutor, focused on GRE preparation in the U.S. The startup also plans to enhance its proprietary AI tutoring models.
In June 2024, SigIQ.ai’s AI tutor scored 175 out of 200 on the UPSC Prelims in under seven minutes, outperforming over 1.3 million candidates. Since then, PadhAI has acquired over 200,000 users, while EverTutor has surpassed 10,000 users within three months of launch.
SigIQ.ai addresses Bloom’s “Two-Sigma Problem,” which highlights the significant academic gains students achieve with personal tutoring. The company’s AI solution is designed to replicate this level of effectiveness at scale by offering adaptive, interactive, and contextual tutoring.
The startup plans to showcase the next versions of its platforms at the upcoming ASU+GSV Summit and expand beyond test prep into broader areas of education. SigIQ.ai’s goal is to make high-quality education accessible to every learner, regardless of location or income.