AI is coming to the classroom: Brisk secures $15 million following a rapid start in schools

Brisk secures $15M funding to enhance AI tools in education.

: Brisk, the AI edtech startup, has secured $15 million in funding to expand its tools that help educators efficiently incorporate AI in classrooms. Led by Arman Jaffer, Brisk's platform includes over 40 tools, employing AI technologies like generative AI and computer vision, aiming to modernize the educational landscape. The startup has expanded rapidly since a $5 million seed round in September 2024, with a user base across 2,000 schools in 100 countries. With ongoing partnerships and increasing teacher adoption, Brisk looks forward to broader platform integrations and additional multimodal features.

Brisk, an AI edtech startup, has gained momentum in the educational sector by offering innovative tools designed to assist teachers in identifying AI-generated content. Recently, it secured $15 million in funding, led by Bessemer Venture Partners, alongside previous investors like Owl Ventures, South Park Commons, and Springbank Collective. This new injection of capital is aimed at expanding Brisk’s suite of AI-powered educational tools, which include a variety of features from lesson plans and grading assistance to detecting signs of AI usage in student writing. The platform, supported by generative AI and computer vision technologies, initially began with a $5 million seed round in September 2024, having since expanded its user base fivefold, currently serving more than 2,000 schools in 100 countries.

Arman Jaffer, Brisk’s founder and CEO, highlighted that the existing edtech stack of approximately 140 tools used annually by average U.S. teachers is not equipped to handle AI-native education requirements. Brisk’s current offerings include over 40 innovative tools accessible through a Chrome extension, designed to automate and enhance various educational tasks, such as lesson planning, ability-based task adjustments, and providing personalized grading feedback, making workflows more efficient and accurate. A prominent example is their ‘Targeted Feedback’ tool, which utilizes generative AI to review student essays, proposing tailored comments for educators to assess and adjust before sharing with students, ensuring human oversight remains integral.

The funding will also aid in developing further integrations, such as one planned for Microsoft platforms by autumn 2025, considering many schools operate within the Microsoft ecosystem. This move reflects ongoing efforts to harmonize educational technology with widely used software, broadening Brisk’s accessibility and appeal. As the startup continues its trajectory with significant inbound interest, it illustrates the substantial demand and eagerness within the education sector for AI tools that can not only address current workflow gaps but do so more effectively than previous technologies allowed.

Despite the innovative push, concerns about data protection and accuracy in AI tools remain evident, as demonstrated by critiques of OpenAI's teacher guide for ChatGPT, highlighting ongoing challenges in balancing technological advances with educational integrity and privacy issues. However, Kent Bennett from Bessemer Venture Partners emphasizes the importance of utilizing transforming technologies like AI to facilitate easier integration into traditionally tech-phobic areas such as education, particularly when it involves intricate human language requirements. Moreover, Brisk strives to maintain a balanced view, promoting AI not as a replacement but a supportive tool for educators, aiming to enrich rather than detract from the pedagogical process.

Looking forward, Brisk aims to launch a new web platform, facilitating a more cohesive environment for educators with resources and activities, while also exploring ‘multimodal’ integrations. These include functionalities for students to submit image-based work, augmenting traditional text evaluations, and a podcast feature for audio descriptions of documents, ensuring a broadened educational approach. Overall, Brisk’s forward-thinking approach and strategic collaborations position it beneficially amid the evolving educational technology landscape, highlighting a pivotal moment in AI’s incorporation into schools.

Sources: TechCrunch, Brisk official website, Bessemer Venture Partners.

AIeducationfunding