Mindmax Raises $3.3M Pre-Seed to Build an AI Tutor That Fights AI 'Cognitive Offloading'
Mindmax, a London-based AI tutoring startup founded by the team behind language learning app Memrise, has raised $3.3 million (about £2.5 million) in pre-seed funding. The round was led by Concept Ventures, with participation from Redrice Ventures, Daybreak Ventures and Lerer Hippeau, and was announced on 5 November.
Angel investors include Maria Raga, former CEO of social marketplace Depop, and Torsten Reil, co-founder of AI defence company Helsing. Concept Ventures, an early backer of ElevenLabs, led the round; partner Oliver Kicks said the founders have "an ability to design and deploy products that deliver learning experiences far superior to anything else on the market."
Co-founders Ed Cooke and Daniel Zohar both come from Memrise, which they built into a language learning platform claiming more than 80 million learners since its 2010 launch. Cooke, a memory grandmaster who once memorised a 1,000-digit number in one hour, co-founded Memrise with Ben Whately; Zohar served as its chief technology officer.
Mindmax's first product is a spoken AI tutor for professional exam preparation and workplace upskilling, with real estate licensing and US nursing credentials among its flagship use cases. The company says its app is live worldwide on iOS and Android, with the United States as its first launch market. Concept Ventures reports thousands of users already preparing for professional exams on the platform.
Learners converse with the tutor in real time and can interrupt mid-explanation, steer the lesson toward topics where they need help, and receive visual explanations and illustrations as they go. Course content adapts to each user's knowledge level, goals and learning style. Given the stakes of professional certification, Cooke said all course content is reviewed by human experts and run through technical accuracy checks.
The company positions Mindmax explicitly against what it calls AI-induced "cognitive offloading" - the risk that learners outsource thinking to chatbots instead of building knowledge of their own. Cooke acknowledged the irony of building an AI platform to counter AI dependence, describing it as "fighting fire with fire": the goal, he said, is to rebuild learners' confidence in their own minds rather than replace them. "Many people think they are not smart enough, when in fact they simply haven't found the learning method that suits them," Zohar said. "In the AI era, that state is extremely dangerous for people - and that is exactly what Mindmax wants to change."
Cooke framed the market opportunity in terms of workforce transition: "More than a billion people are going to need to change careers or upskill in the next decade." The company says the funding will go toward business growth and further development of its AI models and personalised learning capabilities. The team currently numbers around eight people, with six working full-time across Paris, Latvia, London and India.
Angel investors include Maria Raga, former CEO of social marketplace Depop, and Torsten Reil, co-founder of AI defence company Helsing. Concept Ventures, an early backer of ElevenLabs, led the round; partner Oliver Kicks said the founders have "an ability to design and deploy products that deliver learning experiences far superior to anything else on the market."
Co-founders Ed Cooke and Daniel Zohar both come from Memrise, which they built into a language learning platform claiming more than 80 million learners since its 2010 launch. Cooke, a memory grandmaster who once memorised a 1,000-digit number in one hour, co-founded Memrise with Ben Whately; Zohar served as its chief technology officer.
Mindmax's first product is a spoken AI tutor for professional exam preparation and workplace upskilling, with real estate licensing and US nursing credentials among its flagship use cases. The company says its app is live worldwide on iOS and Android, with the United States as its first launch market. Concept Ventures reports thousands of users already preparing for professional exams on the platform.
Learners converse with the tutor in real time and can interrupt mid-explanation, steer the lesson toward topics where they need help, and receive visual explanations and illustrations as they go. Course content adapts to each user's knowledge level, goals and learning style. Given the stakes of professional certification, Cooke said all course content is reviewed by human experts and run through technical accuracy checks.
The company positions Mindmax explicitly against what it calls AI-induced "cognitive offloading" - the risk that learners outsource thinking to chatbots instead of building knowledge of their own. Cooke acknowledged the irony of building an AI platform to counter AI dependence, describing it as "fighting fire with fire": the goal, he said, is to rebuild learners' confidence in their own minds rather than replace them. "Many people think they are not smart enough, when in fact they simply haven't found the learning method that suits them," Zohar said. "In the AI era, that state is extremely dangerous for people - and that is exactly what Mindmax wants to change."
Cooke framed the market opportunity in terms of workforce transition: "More than a billion people are going to need to change careers or upskill in the next decade." The company says the funding will go toward business growth and further development of its AI models and personalised learning capabilities. The team currently numbers around eight people, with six working full-time across Paris, Latvia, London and India.
JMDedu is a leading B2B EdTech Media in China that informs and connects business professionals through our reports, events, and information services. Our mission is to drive the advancement of education. Our network spans the education industry in China as well as globally, including entrepreneurs, investors, startups, educators, business decision-makers, and policy decision-makers.
Copyright © 2014-2026 en.jmdedu.com All Rights Reserved