Atom Learning is the UK’s largest edtech platform for Key Stage 2 students. Founded in 2018 by Alex Hatvany and Jake O’Keeffe, the platform helps primary school children between years 3-6 to improve their learning and prepare for secondary school entrance exams, including the 11+, and SATs.
Atom Learning is divided into two core learning models. ‘Atom Nucleus’ provides a high-quality and cost-effective alternative to private tutoring for parents wanting to support their children’s learning at home. ‘Atom Prime’ is free for all schools, as well as pupils on free school meals, and is used in classrooms around the UK to support over 90,000 primary school pupils.
How did you come up with the idea for the company?
Whilst studying at university, myself and my co-founder, Jake, worked as tutors, but we became uncomfortable with how inaccessible tuition was to most ordinary families and how much the quality varies. Having seen first-hand the unregulated and unequal nature of private tuition, we decided to design and launch an alternative way for pupils to get the tailored support they need to enhance their educational outcomes. We built a platform to help primary school children from all backgrounds improve their learning and prepare for exams.
More from Interviews
- Meet Jack Steiner, Head Of End-To-End Managed Booking Experience: Checkatrade Express
- A Chat With Nik Kairinos, CEO Of RAIDS On Who Owns AI Risk Within Businesses
- Interview With Tobias Cummins, COO At Pencil On Agentic AI In The Marketing Context
- A Conversation With Dr James Gupta, CEO And Founder Of Online Exam Platform Synap On Student AI Use
- A Chat With Joe Crist, CEO Of Transform 42 Inc. On Why Persistent AI Will Split Business Into Two Worlds
- Systems Thinking in Design: Uliana Salo, Platform Design Leader
- Meet Ahmed Hessam, CEO And Founder Of OSAA Innovation
- A Chat With François Bitouzet, Managing Director On The Importance Of Global Tech Events Like VivaTech
How has the company evolved over the last couple of years?
Since 2018, Atom Learning has grown and developed phenomenally. In just the last 18 months, we doubled our team to over 150 education and tech professionals from across Europe. We’ve accumulated a resource bank containing over 90,000 teacher-written questions and activities, and incorporated more advanced machine learning into our platform that adapts to changes in student’s moods and motivation levels.
We’ve also divided our offering into two core learning models, offering home-learning to families through Atom Nucleus, and supporting teachers and students in schools through our Atom Prime site. Both of these platforms use AI to tailor tasks to each child’s learning style and level. By doing this, Atom Learning creates educational experiences that are never demotivating, but challenging enough to accelerate progress and build confidence. No other online learning platform employs a model like ours.
After bootstrapping for 3 years, we raised $25million in investment from Softbank in 2021 – the largest ever Series A round secured by a UK-based edtech platform.
What can we hope to see from Atom Learning in the future?
We’re currently focused on deepening our footprint in the UK market and working hard to provide accessible, tailored support to all households and primary schools across the UK.
