Buddy.AI uses AI and gaming to engage children in English learning. Inspired by his daughter’s online tutoring, Ivan Crewkov founded it after selling his previous startup.
Buddy.AI leverages AI and gaming to teach children English in a healthy learning way. In 2014, to launch his previous startup, Cubic.AI, Ivan Crewkov, the founder, came up with the thought after moving his family from Serbia to the U.S. However, Crewkov’s focus turned to his daughters’ need for English language learning support, as they moved to English-speaking schools in the U.S. Cubic.AI’s plans were dismantled when Amazon launched its Echo smart speaker, rendering the company non-competitive, eventually selling Cubic.AI.
Crewkov noticed that his daughter’s online tutor was reading crammed answers, sparking the idea of creating an AI-based tutor. This insight led to Buddy.AI, multimodal AI character, a conversational, that facilitates children learn English. Buddy.AI is available as a subscription app and is used by both individual consumers and schools in countries such as Brazil.
Getting Buddy.AI to market was difficult. Despite Crewkov’s experience with voice-based AI, building an app that could understand young children’s speech—especially with diverse accents and languages—took years. The company also had to navigate privacy regulations like the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and comply with similar laws globally.
Buddy.AI’s Artificial intelligence model had to be trained to identify voices from children speaking their first English words in various languages, a complex task that required unique data collection. Buddy.AI now claims nearly 55 million downloads and serves over 22 million children annually after overcoming these hurdles.
The company currently raised $11 million in a seed round led by BITKRAFT Ventures. Despite rising interest in AI, as they pitched to over 180 investors, Crewkov said that securing funding was difficult. Given that children view Buddy as a fun game rather than just an educational app, BITKRAFT’s gaming expertise was particularly attractive.
While expanding Buddy.AI’s language options and school partnerships, Crewkov intends to invest the new capital in product development, hiring a head of game design and a UX lead. Buddy.AI stands out among similar startups with its concentration on children learning English.
