A Bucks County startup that uses AI to help students prep for SAT exams has raised $1.5 million in seed funding as it looks to gain traction in the U.S. following a pilot in India.
MentoMind launched in 2020 before securing a partnership with a large college prep school in India in 2021. The company's web app gives students mock tests with results, helps them set goals with personalized daily study plans and has an AI-based chatbot that helps students stay on track. MentoMind has a free version in the U.S., but it's readying to launch its full paid version with the new influx of cash in the next few weeks.
The funding round was led by angel investor Kirtan Patel, a Widener University alum who has led Warminster-based BimSym eBusiness Solutions for more than 25 years.
MentoMind founder and CEO Amit Jain said the pandemic motivated him to want to "do something more impactful," and he saw opportunity in education. Jain has a lengthy background working in computer science and said he has been working with artificial intelligence in one form or another for almost 20 years. Jain taught computer science and then spent time with companies like Lutron Electronics, International SOS and LifeScan before founding MentoMind.
Recent breakthroughs like generative AI have "changed the game," Jain said. Through two quarters in 2023, generative AI startups raised $14.1 billion, according to CBInsights. That's more than four times the $3.5 billion raised by generative AI companies through the first two quarters of 2021 and five times the $2.5 billion they raised in the first half of 2022. The MentoMind team "learned a lot" from the pilot in India, and now is ready for its product to spread throughout the U.S.
"With all that learning through the last few years, we felt like, now let's come back to what we really wanted to do: Help students in the U.S., especially high school students preparing for college and SATs," Jain said. "The use of AI can really personalize the delivery of education to each student and basically optimize teacher time."
The vision for MentoMind, according to Jain, is for teachers to take the role of mentors, with the platform doing much of the heavy lifting when it comes to practice problems and tracking progress. In addition to the free app which launched in the beginning of the summer, the paid app will cost somewhere around $100 per student when it comes to market in a few weeks. The paid version comes with multiple full mock tests with results comparable to other students, personalized study plans, group studying features and over 1,000 practice problems.
The full MentoMind platform will be marketed to schools districts and tutoring companies and can also be purchased by individual students. Jain said it's also possible that teachers or tutors who integrate the product into their classes and encourage students to use it could be eligible for commissions as the business model evolves. The platform is currently narrowly focused on SAT prep, but Jain said that down the line it will also look to expand to the ACT and other tests.
MentoMind is looking to add to his headcount, which is currently at 11 employees. Jain said the seed funding will help him add a sales and marketing specialist, along with teachers — one for English and one for math — to help craft content fit for students. In addition to hiring, the fresh capital will go toward the continued buildout of the platform.
MentoMind has yet to generate revenue in the U.S. and Jain declined to disclose specific revenue targets for the company once it begins to charge for its product.
