The most innovative companies in education in 2025

This year, the most innovative companies in the education sector are tackling a dizzying array of challenges facing students and schools alike—not to mention parents. As a teletherapy platform, Parallel Learning enables schools and special education providers to counsel students and track their progress. Promova, whose mission is to make language learning more accessible to people who are neurodivergent, is the first language learning app to build a dedicated setting for those with dyslexia—a specialized typeface and adjustments to font size and brightness help mitigate some of the most common reading challenges that people with dyslexia experience.

EdSights uses AI chatbots to help colleges and universities identify students who might be at risk of dropping out, in part by increasing student engagement. And then there’s Good Inside, which has become a go-to resource for parents seeking guidance and advice from expert coaches, along with a robust online community.

Meanwhile, other education companies are using artificial intelligence to train both our youngest learners and working professionals who are looking to upskill and adapt to evolving technologies. Generative AI continues to fuel growth at online learning platforms like Coursera, which has doubled down on micro-credentials and now offers more than 80 professional certificates with AI courses that are intended to prepare job candidates for entry-level roles without a college degree.

Amira Learning is helping young students improve their reading literacy with an AI-powered tutor, while CodeSignal has built a platform for tech workers to pick up new technical skills and practice soft skills through AI-powered simulations.

1. Amira Learning

For empowering students to read more fluently

As AI-powered tutors have flooded the market, Amira Learning has drawn special attention for its success in using the technology to help young students become better readers. The six-year-old company, which has raised upwards of $40 million in venture funding and served over 2 million students, is now being used across more than 1,800 districts and in 3,000 schools.

In 2024, Amira—which charges schools per student and is also available as a subscription service for families—launched a new version of its AI tutor that goes beyond reading fluency to improve reading comprehension for elementary school students. The company has inked deals to bring its product to school districts in Louisiana, where Amira is now used by 100,000 students across 25 school districts, as well as Mississippi and Iowa.

Early studies have already captured its impact in other states: In Utah, students who used Amira for just 30 minutes a week saw the equivalent of 1.5 years of improvement in their reading abilities over the course of one school year. Another study, in Louisiana, showed a marked improvement in oral reading fluency among first graders who had used Amira for six weeks.

This June, Amira merged with 27-year-old digital learning company Istation, whose gamified educational content was being used in more than 1,000 school districts. Now Amira’s AI tutor can be paired with content from Istation’s vast library, making its lessons even more effective.

2. CodeSignal

For helping new tech workers brush up on their technical and soft skills

CodeSignal is a popular skills assessment platform to evaluate candidates used by recruiters and hiring teams at major companies like Meta and Uber. In 2024, the company expanded beyond just helping employers with interviews and assessments by introducing a new platform, CodeSignal Learn, which gives tech workers the ability to acquire new technical skills and keep up with industry needs.

Through free and paid tiers, the platform is catering to both tech workers who are looking to advance their careers and those who are trying to find a new job, as well as recruiters who already use CodeSignal for screening candidates but are interested in addressing skills gaps among their existing employee base.

CodeSignal Learn emphasizes practice-based learning over a more didactic approach, and an AI-powered coach called Cosmo helps guide users and can step in if they get stuck on anything. Since rolling out CodeSignal Learn in February 2024, the company has added more than 198,000 users who have completed over a million practices; on average, the platform draws about 8,500 active users each week.

Over the last year, CodeSignal also launched a product called Conversation Practice to help engineers and developers who are newer to the job market improve their soft skills. Through AI simulations, users can practice real-world communication and work on their leadership skills.

3. Good Inside

For teaching parenting as a skill you can hone

Clinical psychologist Becky Kennedy has made a career of offering guidance to parents on how they can set firm boundaries while fostering strong connections with their children. She has channeled her “sturdy parenting” approach—and vast following (she boasts 3 million followers on Instagram)—into a subscription-based online community and parenting resource called Good Inside, which now has 80,000 paid members across more than 100 countries.

In 2024, Good Inside launched an AI-powered app to help subscribers more effectively navigate day-to-day parenting challenges. The app gives busy parents on-demand access to scripts and other personalized guidance, drawing on Kennedy’s expertise and advice from other parenting coaches.

An emotional-reset feature gives parents a nudge to decompress when they need it most, and a private community of like-minded parents promises moral support.

4. Promova

For enabling neurodivergent people to learn languages

Promova launched in 2019 with the intent of making language learning more accessible to people who are neurodivergent. In late 2023, the company became the first language learning app to introduce a dedicated setting for people with dyslexia, which is the most common learning disability. Dyslexia Mode uses a specialized typeface called Dysfont that helps address the most common reading challenges experienced by those with dyslexia.

Promova has since updated Dyslexia Mode to incorporate feedback from users; the app now allows users to increase font size, remove all-caps text, and adjust color brightness to reduce the contrast between the text and the background. In 2024, the company also launched a free ASL class and a white noise feature that caters to neurodivergent learners.

Promova has also updated the app’s interface to help mitigate focus and attention issues for users, particularly those with cognitive disabilities. In 2024, Promova saw significant growth: Overall downloads jumped from 11 million to 15 million, and the app’s monthly user base more than doubled from 800,000 to 1.8 million.

5. Coursera

For enabling workers to reskill through micro-credentials and partnerships with leading employers

In response to demand for professional certificates and other upskilling opportunities, Coursera has doubled down on micro-credentials, adding 40 new programs in the last year—nearly double the number launched in 2023. The online learning company now offers well over 80 professional certificates, which can prepare job candidates for entry-level roles without a college degree.

Coursera’s micro-credentials are sought after in part because of partnerships with leading tech companies; in 2024, employers like Epic Games, Adobe, and Unilever also started offering their own programs. The company has also made the majority of its professional certificates accessible to non-English speakers, offering those courses in 21 languages through AI-powered translation.

Coursera also expanded its partnership with the University of Texas System, a micro-credential program launched in 2023 that offers students, faculty, staff, and alumni free access to upskilling. Through Coursera’s Career Academy, learners can invest in professional certificates from tech employers like Google, IBM, Microsoft, and Salesforce.

This investment in micro-credentials has already boosted revenue: In Q4 2024, Coursera’s consumer revenue crossed $101 million, a 5% year-over-year increase, in part due to interest in entry-level professional certificates and GenAI offerings. Over the past year, Coursera saw more than 3 million enrollments in entry-level professional certificates.

The company continues to see plenty of demand for AI courses: Coursera partnered with Google to launch one that’s now the most popular GenAI course on the platform. In fact, some of the new professional certificates that Coursera introduced in 2024 feature GenAI content from companies like Meta, Microsoft, and IBM. Coursera also worked with New York State’s Department of Labor last year to provide free access to certificate programs for displaced workers.

6. EdSights

For keeping college students in school

Nearly 40% of first-time college students in the U.S. don’t complete their degree within eight years after enrolling. EdSights wants to help academic institutions pinpoint people who are at risk of dropping out by using its AI-powered chatbots to engage with students and offer rapid response support for any number of challenges they may face—be it financial assistance or academic struggles. One of the key metrics EdSights uses to evaluate students is the Student Voice Score, an annual survey of student satisfaction and sentiment that enables academic institutions to compare their overall performance with that of their peers.

As of 2024, EdSights serves more than a million students across 140 colleges. At Southern New Hampshire University, which claims to be the country’s largest nonprofit college, the company increased retention by 4% among first-year students and 12% for underrepresented students. On average, universities that use EdSights see a 4% increase in student retention, with some citing rates as high as 14%. This year, the company also introduced new AI-driven features designed to identify students who are facing mental health issues—and help them get the support they need.

7. Sphero

For taking its STEM robots into the classroom

For over a decade, Sphero has built interactive robots and STEM educational tools that students of all ages can use in the classroom. To date, the company has activated 5 million robots, and its products are employed by more than 40,000 educators in 20,000-plus schools.

In 2024, Sphero launched a new and improved version of its bestselling product for budding programmers. The Bolt+ coding robot is more immersive and open-ended than its predecessor and has already elicited positive feedback from teachers.

This past year, Sphero also introduced Blueprint Engineering kits, which expose middle and high school students to mechanical and electrical engineering concepts. Both products are intended to be easily incorporated into the classroom, and Sphero’s new education resource hub makes it easier for teachers to compile lesson plans. In addition to the Bolt+ and Blueprint kits, Sphero debuted an interactive coding mat and literacy cards that pair with the Indi, a robot designed for kids as young as four.

8. Smalt

For tackling a shortage of climate workers across Europe

To meet renewable energy goals, Europe has plans to add more than 3 million new jobs across the climate sector by 2030. But there’s a shortage of workers who can fill those positions. That’s where Smalt comes in: Founded in 2023, the Berlin-based company is training workers across Europe to address the growing skills gap in the climate industry, armed with a $8 million seed round backed by General Catalyst and Owl Ventures.

Smalt is looking to bring more workers into the solar industry using its tech-enabled training platform, with a particular focus on reaching immigrants. In 2024, the company sourced and trained more than 20 immigrant workers for their first jobs. Smalt also created an app for workers to help mitigate installation mistakes and troubleshoot issues while out in the field; the app has already reduced installation errors by 15%.

The company launched a B2B commercial business in 2024 as well, along with a customer dashboard that gives clients regular updates on their projects and facilitates streamlined communication. Smalt also boosted average revenue for workers, up 20% compared to 2023.

9. Resultant

For enabling states to make data-driven decisions about childcare and schools

The data analytics consulting firm Resultant partners with state education agencies to help improve outcomes for kids and families. Across many states, childcare providers are only required to report vacancies once a year, which means the data is often no longer actionable or up to date. In 2024, Resultant worked with the state of Iowa to create a database of childcare providers called Child Care Connect—not unlike a restaurant reservation system—that updates daily and allows families to check their availability in real time.

Resultant also built multiple programs in Indiana to tackle absenteeism in schools and high school graduation rates. (The rate of chronic absenteeism in the state was nearly 18% for the 2023-2024 school year, up from just 11% pre-pandemic.) Through the Attendance Insights Dashboard—which collects data on excused and unexcused absences by school and grade level, alongside demographic information—schools and districts can track attendance on a weekly basis and keep tabs on students whose academic performance might suffer.

Beyond that, Resultant piloted the Early Warning Indicator System—which uses state-specific data to pinpoint students who might not graduate on time—across 11 school districts before rolling it out statewide for the 2024-2025 school year. Since the platform looks at a number of factors, it can distinguish a student who might have attendance issues but isn’t necessarily at risk of dropping out.

10. Parallel Learning

For expanding access to special education services

Since 2021, Parallel Learning has been on a mission to augment special education services in schools across the country, whether in rural areas that are underserved or urban regions where educators are stretched too thin. The company offers a wide variety of special education services that can help address staff shortages and reduce barriers to care.

After closing a $20 million Series A funding round in 2024, the company formally launched its proprietary teletherapy platform, Pathway, which gives special education providers the ability to conduct virtual therapy and keep tabs on how students are performing against the goals of their Individualized Education Program.

In 2024, Parallel Learning served 6,000 students and saw 200x revenue growth, and its offerings are now used by more than 80 school districts. Students have reported high levels of satisfaction with both the providers and their own progress after using Parallel Learning’s services.

Explore the full 2025 list of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, 609 organizations that are reshaping industries and culture. We’ve selected the companies making the biggest impact across 58 categories, including advertising, applied AI, biotech, retail, sustainability, and more.