Education technology company The Invigilator has secured US$11-million (R195-million) in funding that it plans to use to expand its AI-powered offerings internationally.
The round was led by Kaltroco, a private investment company with headquarters in Jersey, Channel Islands, and by investment professionals in Nashville, Zurich and Cape Town.
Kaltroco partners with founders and management teams to pursue their growth objectives, The Invigilator said in a statement about the investment round.
“As a single, family-backed investment company with no outside investors and no restrictions on structure or hold period, Kaltroco has the flexibility to invest on the timeline that best fits its portfolio companies’ needs and its partner management teams’ objectives,” it said. It has made about 30 investments around the world.
The newly secured funding will be used to enhance The Invigilator’s artificial intelligence models, support multilingual functionality, expand operational teams in key global markets, and strengthen partnerships with educational institutions and corporate clients in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, the company said in the statement.
Co-founder and CEO Nicholas Riemer said: “We always knew we were building something special, and the fact that South African technology is creating global awareness is fantastic to see.”
AI development
“This investment gives us the ability to ramp up AI development, allowing greater access to education while maintaining assessment credibility. The creation of our live AI monitoring technology means The Invigilator is moving to constant assessment monitoring through AI.”
More than 100 educational institutions make use of the platform and tools, including Varsity College, Regenesys Business School, Curro Academy Schools, Eduvos and Boston City Campus. The company was founded in 2020 to address the challenges in “academic integrity” and allow for secure and cost-effective exam monitoring – particularly in resource-constrained environments.
Read: South African AI energy start-up in R32m funding round
Earlier this year, the company released an AI detection feature that allows teachers and lecturers to detect when AI has been used for homework, assignments and assessments.
“A unique approach of breaking down the question paper, analysing each answer and building a writing profile of each student has meant educators can step in when students are over-relying on AI and not developing key critical thinking skills,” the statement said.
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