Singapore edtech platform for teachers nets $500k in seed round

Singapore-based edtech company Noodle Factory announced that it has raised US$500,000 in seed funding. The round is supported by edtech accelerators EduSpaze and SuperCharger Ventures as well as a consortium of angel investors.

Noodle Factory co-founders Yvonne Soh (left) and Jim Wagstaff / Photo credit: Noodle Factory

With the seed funding, Noodle Factory plans to extend its platform to K-12 institutions and expand its presence in English-speaking markets including the UK, Australia, the US, and Canada.

Co-founded in 2018 by Yvonne Soh and Jim Wagstaff – who are also the co-founders of corporate edtech startup Jam Factory – Noodle Factory helps educators effectively scale tutoring and exam preparation. The platform uses natural language processing (NLP) to automate the creation, preparation, and grading of exams and assessments, as well as to set up knowledge bases for AI-enabled tutoring.

NLP is a form of AI that extracts meaning from human language and understands the context of what is being written. “As instant as a cup of noodles. That’s how long it takes to set up an AI Bot on our platform,” reads the company’s LinkedIn bio.

Home-based learning and new administrative challenges to implement safe distancing protocols could lead to educators experiencing a disconnect from their peers and the curriculum. Their students may also have low motivation and engagement levels in a digital learning environment. With Noodle Factory’s platform, educators are able to spend less time creating and grading assessments and focus on teaching students and developing the curriculum, says the company.

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“We see many schools adopting technology to augment the way teachers teach and Noodle Factory’s AI platform can really help to further engage the students, providing an effective way for personalized learning to improve learning outcome,” said Alex Ng, managing director of EduSpaze.

Noodle Factory’s solutions are being used on more than 2,000 students from Ngee Ann Polytechnic, SIM Global Education, and the Institute of Technical Education.