In the fast-paced world of technology startups, the journey often involves navigating unexpected obstacles that can turn initial dreams into daunting challenges. This was precisely the experience of Ivan Crewkov, who relocated his family from Serbia to the United States in 2014 with the hopes of launching Cubic.AI, a startup focused on smart speaker technology. Crewkov’s ambitions, however, were met with a setback when Amazon released its Echo just days before Cubic.AI’s Kickstarter launch. This competitive landscape rendered Crewkov’s project nearly obsolete, leading him to sell the company a couple of years later. “It was a disaster. It made zero sense to compete with Amazon and Google,” Crewkov remarked, capturing the heartache experienced by many entrepreneurs facing similar hurdles.
Nonetheless, this trajectory of disappointment ignited a new direction for Crewkov. After moving to the U.S., he encountered a personal challenge: his daughters, who were accustomed to speaking Russian at home, had to adapt to English-speaking schools. This prompted Crewkov to observe the trials facing his daughters and other non-native speakers in language acquisition. A pivotal moment arose when he noticed his eldest daughter struggling with an English tutor who relied on scripted responses. This observation sparked an idea for a new startup—Buddy.ai, an innovative educational tool designed to bolster language learning for children.
Buddy.ai is a distinctive animated tutor that employs multimodal features to facilitate English as a second language (ESL) learning among children. The app functions on a subscription basis, providing parents and educators with a valuable resource for enhancing language proficiency. Furthermore, Buddy.ai has expanded its reach by collaborating with educational institutions in various countries, including Brazil. Crewkov was quick to point out that despite his prior experience in voice AI technology, establishing Buddy.ai presented significant hurdles. What he initially estimated would take six months to launch turned into a multi-year development endeavor driven by regulatory and technical complexities.
One of the major challenges faced by Buddy.ai stemmed from its target demographic—young children. This necessitated navigating the intricate mandates of the Children Online Privacy Act (COPA) and similar regulations in various countries. In addition to regulatory constraints, Crewkov highlighted the technical challenges of developing an AI capable of recognizing the diverse accents and pronunciations of children who were still mastering English. “We are trying to understand a 4-year-old Brazilian girl trying to say her first words in English at the same time as a 4-year-old Arabic girl from Saudi Arabia,” he explained, illustrating the multifaceted complexities inherent in the product’s development.
Despite these initial setbacks, Buddy.ai emerged victorious. Seven years after its inception, the company now boasts approximately 55 million downloads and caters to over 22 million students yearly. Recently, it secured an $11 million seed funding round, led by BITKRAFT Ventures, along with contributions from One Way Ventures, J Ventures, and Point72 Ventures. Crewkov noted that while interest in AI has surged, fundraising for Buddy.ai was a challenging endeavor. After discussions with 186 investors, they found their perfect match in BITKRAFT, which specializes in gaming—an aspect that resonates strongly with children’s engagement with Buddy.ai.
Indeed, the appeal of Buddy.ai lies in its playful nature, allowing children to interact with the platform as they would a game. This approach differentiates Buddy.ai from other language-learning solutions. Although competitors like Univerbal and Loora have also gained traction in the AI language tutor space, Buddy.ai’s specific focus on children learning English as a second language remains a unique selling point. Crewkov asserted his belief that the future of education technology lies in “hybrid” models—where AI characters and human instructors work synergistically to enhance learning experiences.
With the funds raised from this latest round, Crewkov plans to prioritize product development, focusing on enriching the user experience. He recognizes that even with Buddy.ai’s current market presence and traction, the technology itself remains underdeveloped. To address this, the company aims to hire experts in game design and user experience design. Moreover, expanding its language offerings and strengthening partnerships with educational institutions are strategic objectives moving forward.
The journey of Buddy.ai from the ashes of an initial failure to becoming a leading player in the educational technology sector exemplifies resilience and innovation. Crewkov’s story serves as a reminder that challenges, when approached with creativity and determination, can lead to groundbreaking solutions that positively impact the lives of many. As the EdTech landscape continues to evolve, the success of Buddy.ai may well be a harbinger of the future—where AI fundamentally reshapes the way we approach language learning for children worldwide.