An edtech startup that claims to have built the world’s first AI tutor for exam prep has raised $8m (£5.9m) as it looks to expand the capabilities of its platform.
Launched in February 2025, Medly AI said it has already amassed a user base of more than 400,000 people in the UK.
The startup was created by UCL medical graduates Dr Paul Jung and Dr Kavi Samra and aims to act as an automated personal tutor for students.
Built on a combination of large language models, Medly said its AI tutor delivers tailored services to each student, tracks their progress and bases its work on the learning style of the individual.
The company claims that students who used the platform to prepare for their GCSE exams last summer, 74% of them improved by at least one grade.
Jung, who is the chief executive of the company, said that its platform can bridge the gap between students from families that can afford private tutoring and those that cannot.
“Our custom AI gives every child access to a 24/7 personal tutor that adapts to how they learn and responds to their unique needs. In just one exam season, the majority of students using Medly were able to improve by at least an entire grade – that’s a game-changer for young people,” he said.
The seed funding round was led by Felix Capital and was backed by existing investors Eka Ventures and Ada Ventures as well as several angel backers.
“Over recent years, we’ve seen technology creating positive changes in people’s lives in many ways. Education, in particular, has the potential to fundamentally shape one’s life trajectory for the better, and even more so with marginal cost of content creation,” said Angela Chou, an investor at Felix Capital.
“We are particularly excited by Medly’s mission and track record to provide effective exam prep, powered by AI, to hundreds of thousands of young people We are also deeply touched by Paul and Kavi’s personal stories, as well as impressed by their ability to build and scale Medly to a meaningful platform in such a short period of time!”
The fundraise follows Medly’s selection for the Department for Education’s (DfE) AI Tutoring Tools Pioneers Programme grant, joining companies like Pearson and ElevenLabs in developing tools to improve academic attainment for disadvantaged pupils across England.
