Pradyu Kandala and Abhay Chebium, two juniors at Eastlake High School in Sammamish, Washington, co-founded Professor AI to address the lack of resources available to help students study for advanced placement courses. The ed-tech tool utilizes AI technology to provide study guides, practice tests, quizzes, course-specific chats, and more to assist students with their AP coursework. Trained on AP-specific curriculum using AI models from OpenAI, Claude, Anthropic, and Mistral AI, Professor AI aims to make studying for AP courses more accessible and effective.
While AI technology has made its way into the classroom, concerns have been raised about tools like ChatGPT that can generate content and answers automatically. Seattle Public Schools initially banned ChatGPT on student devices but later made it available to ensure students have access to transformative technology. Professor AI, however, is not designed to facilitate cheating but rather to overcome the obstacles students face when studying for AP courses, such as limited teacher availability, expensive tutoring services, and overwhelming self-study.
The co-founders believe that their unique position as high school students themselves gives them insight into the needs of AP students and allows them to connect with potential customers on a daily basis. They are currently enrolled in an accelerator program with Antler, have raised $20,000 in funding, and are actively seeking additional investors. Their monetization strategy involves a subscription model with tiered pricing plans, including a free plan, a $14/month “scholar” plan, and a $29/month “elite” plan that offers unlimited access to various features.
Professor AI has a team of developers and marketing/content staff, primarily composed of high school students. The startup aims to provide a valuable educational resource to students preparing for AP courses, offering a convenient and effective study tool that addresses the limitations of traditional studying methods. By leveraging AI technology and their firsthand experience as high school students, Kandala and Chebium hope to revolutionize how students approach AP coursework and make studying more accessible and engaging for students across the country.
