Birmingham graduates sell AI study app 13 months after launch

Two University of Birmingham graduates have sold the artificial intelligence study platform they built, just 13 months after it launched.

StudyStash, founded by Ben Ward, 23, and Jonathan Graham, 24, has been bought by Kortext, a company founded in 2013 that provides digital textbooks and learning tools to universities. The price has not been disclosed.

What StudyStash does

The platform uses AI to turn course material, such as lecture notes and slides, into personalised study resources, including flashcards, practice tests and podcasts. The resources adapt to each student, focusing on the areas they find most difficult.

It is used by tens of thousands of students at more than 160 institutions, including California State University, Minnesota State, Colorado State University, the University of Oulu in Finland and RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences in Ireland.

Solving their own problem

"We started StudyStash to solve our own problem but quickly realised we'd created a tool that could make a real difference to thousands of learners," Ward said.

The company says that at one university in Washington state, no students who used StudyStash dropped out of their course, compared with 16 per cent of those who did not use it. The platform has also been used to support the training of 1,000 surgeons in 15 African countries.

What happens next

Ward will remain chief executive and Graham chief technology officer, and StudyStash will continue as a separate brand. Both founders are moving to Silicon Valley in California to grow the business in the United States.

Student start-ups in Birmingham

Birmingham's universities have been investing in support for student and graduate entrepreneurs, with incubators, mentoring and seed funding to help turn ideas into businesses. Birmingham City University's Henderson Programme, funded by the Slack co-founder Cal Henderson, offers up to 5,000 pounds for student innovation projects, and the University of Birmingham runs its own enterprise programmes.

New research by the virtual office provider Virtual HQ found that 12.9 per cent of directors appointed to new Birmingham companies over the past year were under 25, the fourth highest proportion in the UK.

AI in education

AI tools are changing the way students learn, from chatbots that explain difficult concepts to apps that generate revision materials. Universities have had to rethink assessment, as AI can also be used to write essays, and many now set rules on when and how students may use it.

Supporters say tools that help students practise and test themselves, rather than doing the work for them, can improve learning. Research has long shown that retrieval practice, testing yourself on what you have learned, is one of the most effective ways to remember information.

Losing talent to Silicon Valley?

The founders' move to California highlights a familiar challenge for the UK technology sector. Many promising start-ups move to the United States, where investors are more plentiful and the market is larger. Business leaders in Birmingham say the city needs more local investment and support to keep growing companies in the region, even as it produces successful founders.

Why it matters

A quick, successful sale like this can inspire other students to start businesses and attract investors' attention to Birmingham's universities as a source of new ideas.