Birmingham graduates build and sell AI platform just 13 months after launch

Two University of Birmingham graduates have sold their AI study platform just 13 months after founding it, in a deal with digital learning provider Kortext.

StudyStash, founded by Ben Ward, 23, and Jonathan Graham, 24, has been acquired for an undisclosed sum.

The platform began as a tool the pair built to manage their own course material and is now used by tens of thousands of students across more than 160 institutions, with around half its customers based in North America, including California State University, Minnesota State and Colorado State.

The platform integrates with learning systems including Canvas, Blackboard and Moodle, turning existing course material into personalised flashcards, practice tests and podcasts that adapt as students progress. Other partners include Finland’s University of Oulu and the RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, where StudyStash has supported training for 1,000 surgeons across 15 African countries. At one university in Washington state, StudyStash said drop-out rates among its users fell to zero, compared with 16% among non-users.

Kortext, founded in 2013, works with thousands of universities on digital content, analytics and AI-powered learning tools. The acquisition gives StudyStash access to Kortext’s network of more than 1,000 universities.

Ward and Graham will remain as chief executive and chief technology officer respectively and will continue running StudyStash as a distinct brand, relocating to Silicon Valley as the company expands further into the US market.

Ward said: “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. Since launch, we’ve raised equity finance, scaled to 160-plus institutions on three continents, broken into the US market and now been acquired by one of the largest e-learning providers in the field.”

James Gray, founder and chief executive of Kortext, said StudyStash’s capabilities complemented the company’s existing strengths and would extend its reach into teaching and learning workflows.

Ward and Graham met while studying computer science at the University of Birmingham and working together on PwC’s technology degree apprenticeship. Both had previously run their own businesses, Graham through Nucleus Consulting and Ward through Silicon Square. StudyStash was developed through the university’s Elevate incubator programme, with the University of Birmingham as its first customer before expanding to schools and colleges including St Mary’s University, Loughborough University and City St George’s.