Mathpresso is a Seoul (Korea) -based edtech company whose flagship learning technology venture is QANDA, a personalized learning platform that helps students solve questions through a mobile app and receive detailed answers. Its core value proposition is to make high-quality, tutoring-style academic support more accessible to students regardless of location or socioeconomic background, especially by turning a simple question into an immediate, structured learning interaction.
Jake Yongjae Lee studied electrical and electronics engineering at Hanyang University and later completed graduate study in management engineering at Yonsei University, while Ray Jongheun Lee developed the idea for QANDA after tutoring students and noticing how strongly access to quality learning depended on context and location. This actually comes from a highly competitive and academic driven society of Korea, where families “relocate” themselves to neighbourhoods with highly concentrated cram schools – so called “Daechi-dong”, thinking that sending their child to schools and cram schools in the area will help them to ‘succeed’ and enter so-called prestigious universities. This further deepen the polarization of not just academic but economic disparities, considering how expensive privatization of education is, especially in Korea.
Their motivation appears rooted in a genuine educational problem rather than a purely commercial one, which is often a strength in mission-driven entrepreneurship. Together, they combined technical capability, product intuition, and a shared founder-market fit shaped by direct experience with learner needs. Public information also indicates support from well-known investors such as Samsung Venture Investment and SoftBank Ventures, which is often a useful signal of external confidence, although a balanced assessment would still note that long-term educational impact depends on sustained learning outcomes, not funding alone.
On a personal level, it is inspiring to see both founders trying to address a societal problem through entrepreneurship. Having grown up abroad, where my parents wanted to shield me from the kind of intense academic pressure and educational competition found in some systems, this issue has felt somewhat distant to me. Still, their product has prompted me to reflect on how technology can be used more intentionally, and it has inspired me to think about ways I might contribute more meaningfully to society.
What stood out to me most about Jake and Ray Lee is the strong connection between the problem identified and the solution developed. Their venture appears to be rooted in firsthand observations of educational inequities and barriers to accessing academic support. I also appreciate their discussion of founder-market fit, as their experience within the Korean education system seems to have provided valuable insight into a genuine learner need.
From an EVA perspective, I think successful ventures often emerge from a deep understanding of a specific problem rather than just the technology alone. While QANDA’s growth and investor support are impressive, I agree that long-term success should ultimately be measured by educational impact and learner outcomes.
I really resonated with your point about their experience within the Korean education system driving the venture. That context makes their solution feel so much more authentic than a standard app pitch.
I did wonder who actually pays for it? If it’s user fees, that contradicts the whole point for low-income families. If it’s ads, that shifts the product toward engagement over learning. And if it’s donors or government contracts, that’s a long, uncertain road of meeting funder asks that also shapes product. It feels like the revenue model could either strengthen or undermine the accessibility goal, depending on which way they go.