StudyStash sold by Birmingham graduates

An adaptive AI study platform has been sold to a US company by two University of Birmingham graduates in a deal reported to be worth several million pounds.

StudyStash has been sold by founders Ben Ward and Jonathan Graham to US e-learning firm Kortext, just a year after their graduation from the university.

The platform was created by its founders to help them with their own degrees and has since been used by tens of thousands of students at more than 160 institutions across three continents.

StudyStash uses neuroscience and AI to supercharge student learning and help slash dropout rates. Now, backed by Kortext and its network of more than 1,000 universities, it plugs directly into the world’s biggest learning systems, including Canvas, Blackboard and Moodle.

Mr Ward, co-founder and CEO of StudyStash, said: “We designed the platform to solve our own problem but quickly realised we’d created a tool that could make a real difference to thousands of learners.

“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, broken into the US market and now been acquired by one of the largest e-learning providers in the field.”

Mr Graham, the firm’s other co-founder and CTO, said: “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 the platform to many more universities.”

Using existing course material, StudyStash 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.

Acquirer Kortext was founded in 2013 and works with thousands of universities worldwide, helping to enhance teaching, learning and student engagement through digital content, analytics and AI-powered workflow solutions.

As part of the acquisition, Mr Ward and Mr Graham – who met while studying computer science at the University of Birmingham and worked together on PwC’s technology degree apprenticeship – will remain as CEO and CTO, respectively, and continue to lead StudyStash as a distinct brand.