AI-powered tutoring startup SigIQ.ai raises $9.5 million; know what it does

SigIQ.ai, an AI-powered edtech startup co-founded by UC Berkeley's Professor Kurt Keutzer and AI researcher Dr. Karttikeya Mangalam, has raised $9.5 million in a seed funding round to bring elite one-on-one tutoring to students worldwide—at the cost of computation rather than costly human instruction.

The round was co-led by The House Fund and GSV Ventures, with participation from Duolingo, General Catalyst India (Venture Highway), Peak XV Partners, and Calibrate Ventures.

A slate of noted angel investors also joined the round, including Andy Konwinski (Co-founder of Perplexity), Christian Storm (Co-founder & CTO, Turnitin), and professors from institutions such as UC Berkeley, MIT, and Princeton.

The California and Gurugram-based startup plans to use the funds to scale its two flagship products—PadhAI, focused on India's UPSC civil services exam, and EverTutor, targeting GRE preparation—while continuing to enhance its proprietary AI tutoring models.

"We are at a pivotal moment in education where modern GenAI can provide a personal 1:1 tutor to every student and reduce the cost of one-on-one learning from hundreds of dollars an hour to the cost of computation," said Mangalam, who also serves as CEO.

Outperforming 1.3 million candidates

SigIQ.ai made headlines in June 2024 when its AI-powered tutor took India's notoriously difficult UPSC Preliminary exam—and achieved a score of 175 out of 200 in under seven minutes, the highest ever recorded.

The startup's India-focused platform, PadhAI, has since onboarded over 200,000 learners in just six months. Its companion product, EverTutor, launched three months ago for GRE prep in the U.S., has already surpassed 10,000 users and will see expanded rollouts during the spring and fall exam cycles.

Solving the "two-sigma" problem

SigIQ.ai's platform aims to address the long-standing "Bloom's Two-Sigma Problem," a reference to research showing that students with personal tutors perform two standard deviations better than those in traditional classroom settings. But the challenge has always been scalability—high-quality, one-on-one tutoring remains a luxury for most.

SigIQ.ai claims its technology offers a breakthrough. Unlike conventional AI tools that mimic FAQs or scripted answers, its system enables highly personalized and interactive tutoring, capable of contextual instruction, instant feedback, and adaptive pathways tailored to individual progress.

"SigIQ.ai isn't just a regular edtech startup—they've built an AI system that publicly demonstrated its ability to outperform both humans and commercial AI models on one of the world's most challenging exams,” said Jeremy Fiance, Managing Director at The House Fund. "This redefines what's possible in personalized education."

Future plans

SigIQ.ai plans to showcase the next version of its tutoring platforms at the upcoming ASU+GSV Summit, a global gathering of education and technology leaders.

"Beyond standardized tests, SigIQ.ai envisions a future where their technology transforms education broadly, creating a new era where high-quality learning isn't limited by geography, language, or economic status. Ultimately, the team is set on proving that elite education doesn't have to be scarce – it can and must be universal," the startup said.