Teacher's Buddy, a New Zealand-founded AI platform for educators, has raised NZD $2.3 million in seed funding as it targets growth in New Zealand, Australia and the UK.
The company said more than 12,000 teachers in 130 countries have adopted the platform since it launched 18 months ago. Teacher's Buddy said users save an average of two hours a day on planning tasks.
The funding round drew investors from New Zealand and Australia. Soul Capital led the raise from Auckland, alongside Giant Leap from Australia.
Teacher's Buddy said it built the product for classroom planning and assessment work. The platform generates lesson plans, assessments, reports and planning documents. It also creates learning material that varies by student level.
Workload pressure
The company is positioning its software against teacher workload and burnout. It pointed to research on teacher stress and hours in New Zealand.
Research cited by the company said New Zealand teachers work longer hours and report higher stress than the OECD average. It said one third of teachers report experiencing stress a lot at work. It said full-time teachers average 47.5 hours a week.
Teacher's Buddy said surveys show teachers want more time for individual students and less administration. It said administration has become a major contributor to burnout across the profession.
Matt Abraham and Ben Sze founded the business. The pair said they designed the product around tasks that consume time outside teaching hours.
Teacher's Buddy said the platform can align output with New Zealand curriculum frameworks. It includes Te Reo language preferences and references to Te Marautanga o Aotearoa. The company also said the software can generate customised learning content for neurodiverse students, English language learners and students across a range of attainment levels.
Abraham described the platform's approach to differentiation in the classroom.
"Our platform can adjust a lesson to support students who are falling behind and can also generate more advanced material for students who need a greater challenge which is something teachers are already having to manage manually within very limited time and resource," said Matt Abraham, Co-Founder, Teacher's Buddy.
He linked the product to workload issues he has seen in schools.
"Educators are often expected to manage lesson planning, teaching and reporting in the same week and many feel they are unable to give personalised attention to students who need extra support.
"I created Teacher's Buddy after having been on the board of trustees of my own kids' school in Northland for almost a decade and seeing first-hand the types of challenges teachers and schools face. I am passionate about supporting the incredible work that teachers do and everything we are building is intended to support and strengthen teacher wellbeing.
"We can't expect good student outcomes if we're neglecting the people we put in charge of facilitating their learning. We need to give them the tools to succeed," said Abraham.
School adoption
Teacher's Buddy said uptake has included New Zealand schools. It said more than 25 schools across the country have adopted, trialled and contributed to the platform.
The company said it plans new partnerships, product developments and expanded support for local schools as part of its New Zealand strategy. It also said it is preparing a second generation of the platform.
That next version will include personalised professional development tools for teachers, according to the company.
Teacher's Buddy also set out plans related to education content providers. Abraham said the company plans a platform extension for textbook publishers and educational resource providers.
He said publishers and providers will be able to upload and license curriculum-aligned content into the platform. He said the company intends to combine AI with "trusted, curriculum-aligned content resources".
Investor view
Soul Capital said it viewed the platform in the context of pressure on teachers and expectations on schools.
"As impact investors we're excited to see a direct line between Teacher's Buddy and our impact priorities along with a highly scalable model", said Jon Sandbrook, Venture Principal, Soul Capital.
"The early adoption of the Teacher's Buddy platform across so many countries demonstrates how urgent the need has become and that this marks a turning point in how education technology is built in New Zealand.
"We are backing Ben and Matt and the team because they have the clarity and discipline to deliver the model at scale, and we're backing their solution because it empowers teachers to do what they do best - helping learners from all backgrounds and capabilities to realise their full potential," said Sandbrook.
Teacher's Buddy said it intends to grow to more than 30,000 teachers and 200 school partners over the next 12 months across New Zealand, Australia and the UK. "We were founded here, and teachers in New Zealand face the same workload pressures seen globally. We want Teacher's Buddy to become a permanent part of the education landscape, supporting schools across the country for years to come," said Abraham.