The internet has had a profound impact on education and how we learn things, a critical complement to any learning environment. Online university classes, massive open online courses (MOOCs), and even digital textbooks but many of these offerings reflect digital extensions of in-person actions. Others are harnessing the power of the internet and associated technologies to offer new forms of learning. Sizzle AI is an AI-powered problem-solving app that works to guide learners through any type of problem. Learners simply take a photo of any problem (multiple choice, word) across math and the sciences and breaks it down into a step-by-step guided learning experience to come to the correct solution rather than merely providing an answer, allowing learners to develop core problem-solving skills in a fun, engaging and interactive manner. Developed by a seasoned expert in AI and a father of four, Sizzle is completely free to use and is initially focused on helping students with broader plans to support lifelong learning.
AlleyWatch caught up with Sizzle AI Founder Jerome Presenti to learn more about the business, the company’s strategic plans, recent funding, and much, much more…
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
Sizzle AI has raised a total of $7.5M in seed funding, led by Owl Ventures and with participation from 8VC.
Tell us about the product or service that Sizzle AI offers.
Sizzle is the free personalized app that uses the power of AI to help learners work through any problem, step by step.
Rather than providing answers to problems outright, Sizzle guides students through each step, building problem-solving skills and a mastery of underlying concepts.
Simply share a picture of the problem and Sizzle will solve it with you, every step of the way. Sizzle will automatically recognize your problem, but you have the ability to crop and edit the problem before Sizzle starts to solve it.
Sizzle is able to solve word problems, a feature that is not often offered on the market today.
Sizzle is available internationally and can help across a variety of topics including Science, Math, and more.
Sizzle is designed for anyone who wants to learn a new subject or improve their existing skills. Users must be at least 13 to download the app, and it is currently available in English with more languages to come.
Whether you’re a university student preparing for a new class, a high school student struggling with a specific subject, an adult who wants to be in-the-know about a hot topic for professional development or a student in Somalia that wants to learn a subject they don’t have access to at school, Sizzle is there to help.
What inspired the start of Sizzle AI?
Prior to founding Sizzle, I served as VP of AI at Meta, focusing on making Meta products safer and more valuable through the use of AI. MetaAI’s main contributions during my time there were PyTorch, AI for content moderation, very large models for ads and recommendations, and Facebook AI Research (FAIR)’s research breakthroughs.
Before Meta, I was co-CEO of BenevolentAI, which develops novel AI technologies that will change how drugs are discovered. Prior to that, I led the global team of researchers and software engineers within IBM Watson developing state-of-the-art software in question and answering, dialog, speech, natural language processing, and automated machine translation.
I joined IBM through its acquisition of Vivisimo, the search and text analytics company I co-founded in 2000. Vivisimo’s technology was based on the machine learning research I conducted with my co-founders in the CS department of CMU from 1998 to 2000.
On the policy side, I have served as co-chair of an independent review on the growth of AI commissioned by the UK government. This report led to a sector deal and most of its recommendations have been since implemented by the UK government.
Throughout my career and through my research, I have been a lifelong learner. I am also the father of four kids – from elementary to college age – and experienced firsthand the challenges students face in staying up with the classroom teachings. After leaving Meta, I was inspired to leverage AI to truly help students and non-students no matter what kind of background they come from, school they attend, or how many resources they have.
I felt that applications of AI haven’t had a clear positive impact on people’s lives. Using it to transform learning is an opportunity to change that.
How is Sizzle AI different?
Sizzle is a free, interactive app that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help learners work through any problem, including word problems, step by step.
It is interactive because rather than simply providing answers to problems, Sizzle guides students through each step of solving a problem, using positive and reaffirming language to build confidence and excitement in learning. Students can also ask questions to better understand concepts and get answers right away.
Additionally, unlike most learning apps that require users to pay after the first handful of uses, Sizzle is free to use, with no limits on its usage. Sizzle is available to learners of all backgrounds to benefit from its personalized, learning-first focus.
The longer-term vision for Sizzle is to go beyond students to support lifelong learning and curiosity for all ages. Sizzle will enable users to learn what they want, how they want – in a highly personalized, social learning platform.
What market does Sizzle AI target and how big is it?
In the war for attention, learning/education is outgunned. Social media platforms leverage millions of creators and advanced AI to create ultra-personalized, highly retentive, and incredibly engaging experiences. By contrast, online teaching today leverages a tiny subset of the available educational content through curriculums that are neither personalized nor optimized for engagement. The resulting experience is often considered boring by students, and the majority of the online learning platforms have not seen retention higher than the single-digit range, and course completion is just 3%.
In the war for attention, learning/education is outgunned. Social media platforms leverage millions of creators and advanced AI to create ultra-personalized, highly retentive, and incredibly engaging experiences. By contrast, online teaching today leverages a tiny subset of the available educational content through curriculums that are neither personalized nor optimized for engagement. The resulting experience is often considered boring by students, and the majority of the online learning platforms have not seen retention higher than the single-digit range, and course completion is just 3%.
Our mission at Sizzle AI is to make learning amazing for everyone – by using AI to make learning interactive, personalized, and engaging.
We are starting on that journey by launching an app that helps students by providing guidance to solve step-by-step problems in all STEM subjects.
What’s your business model?
Our business model is to offer an app that supports learning for all users, free of charge. Over time, we will add revenue streams such as a premium offering and in-app purchases however, the version of the app for solving step-by-step problems will remain free.
How are you preparing for a potential economic slowdown?
Our approach at all times, good and slow, is to focus on strong execution which means building products that provide meaningful value cost-effectively and profitably.
What was the funding process like?
It was pretty straightforward. Pitched during a 2-week period to 15 VCs. Got ⅓ interested in investing and picked the one who understood and supported our vision best.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
Convincing VCs that people do indeed want to learn!
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
A fresh and bold vision plus a track record – for an industry that needs new thinking and new people.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
In the next few months, we plan to add several new features to the app to help students use Sizzle for more than step-by-step problems. We want to help students build mastery of topics they struggle with, get feedback on their knowledge/skill level, and have a safe environment where they can learn at their own pace, ask questions without judgment, and gain confidence. Overall, the goal is to give learners the tools they need to become masters of a subject by learning it, not just giving answers.
In the next few months, we plan to add several new features to the app to help students use Sizzle for more than step-by-step problems. We want to help students build mastery of topics they struggle with, get feedback on their knowledge/skill level, and have a safe environment where they can learn at their own pace, ask questions without judgment, and gain confidence. Overall, the goal is to give learners the tools they need to become masters of a subject by learning it, not just giving answers.
What advice can you offer companies in New York that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
Start small. You can build a lot with a very small team these days.
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
We hope students will find Sizzle to be a useful tool for studying and homework. It can also help parents tutor their kids or help teachers grade coursework and, as we add more features, Sizzle can be an all-in-one learning resource not just for individuals but for schools as well. Sizzle’s core step-by-step problem-solving tool will always be free.
What’s your favorite summer destination in and around the city?
Kitesurfing in Rockaway.
