Founder-Leader: Caleb Hicks, Founder and CEO of SchoolAI
Venture: SchoolAI
SchoolAI is an AI platform designed for classrooms. It gives teachers a way to create AI learning spaces where students can ask questions, practise skills, explore ideas, and get support while the teacher can still see what is happening. The value of SchoolAI is that it is not trying to replace the teacher. Instead, it is trying to help teachers reach more students, notice who is struggling, and make learning more personal without adding even more work to an already overloaded job.
Caleb Hicks is interesting to me because he seems to have built this company from real classroom experience. He started as a teacher, so he would understand how hard it is to know what every student is thinking, especially when you have a full class and limited time. That part stood out to me because one of the hardest parts of teaching is not just delivering content, but figuring out who is confused, who is quiet, who needs more challenge, and who is just trying to get through the lesson without being noticed.
I also like that SchoolAI seems to use AI in a way that keeps the teacher involved. A lot of AI tools feel like they are either built for productivity or for students to use on their own. SchoolAI feels a little different because the teacher can guide the activity and still monitor student thinking. To me, that makes it more useful as an educational tool because it is not just about making things faster. It is about helping teachers see students more clearly.
Hicks also seems to have the kind of background that makes sense for this type of venture. He has experience in teaching, instructional design, curriculum, and technology, which is important because EdTech needs to work in real classrooms, not just look impressive online. The company also appears to have a strong team and investor support, which suggests that it has enough credibility to keep growing.
Personally, I find this venture interesting because it connects to a problem I see in education all the time. Teachers are expected to personalize learning, support every student, collect evidence, give feedback, and still manage the classroom. That is a huge ask. SchoolAI appeals to me because it is trying to use AI to make some of that more possible. Hicks’s story also reminds me that entrepreneurship does not always start with a big business plan. Sometimes it starts with noticing a real problem in your own profession and being willing to try to solve it.
Caleb Hicks is a great founder to feature. What stands out to me most is the founder-market fit here; Hicks built SchoolAI from direct classroom experience, which means the product was shaped by a real understanding of what teachers actually need rather than an outsider’s assumption about what might help. That origin story is worth paying attention to because so many edtech ventures fail precisely because they’re designed by people who haven’t experienced the pain points firsthand. What also makes Hicks remarkable is the design philosophy of keeping the teacher central to the learning experience, which aligns with emerging, research-informed perspectives on AI in education suggesting that teacher-mediated implementation produces stronger outcomes than fully autonomous tools.