It has been two years since Austin Ketola started Tutorsmith, a company designed to make education more accessible to students and parents. The idea had first struck him when he was looking for tutoring jobs in high school, and he took the leap of faith to turn it into a startup while studying for a bachelor’s in Computer Engineering and Economics at NC State.
Ketola’s early experience moved him to talk to parents, educators, and administrators about existing learning barriers aside from money.
“Math was the big one,” he said. “And English as well. Literacy [was a common struggle] for the lower grades, while math [was an issue] for middle and high school.”
After discussions with tutors and initial clients from Tutorsmith, Ketola started thinking about how the company could differentiate itself from its competitors. In November of 2024, he released a demo for a new platform, dubbed Asobo.
“It was still under Tutorsmith at the time,” he said, “but [with] AI to plan lessons and keep track of a student’s performance to make the tutor’s job easier.”
Two months later, Ketola committed fully to the pivot and started the development process.
AI-driven personalization
Asobo is built on the same mission that drove Tutorsmith but is designed with retrieval augmented generation—a type of AI that pulls information from a designated database. The startup’s database, containing about 300,000 example questions, feeds its generative AI engine to create new questions.
Asobo’s AI then personalizes those questions based on a given student’s background or indicated needs. According to Ketola, this distinguishes Asobo from learning platforms like IXL; Asobo doesn’t display the typical answer-by-answer, static practice modules. And while the platform is aligned with state and national standards, it side-steps the “one-size-fits-all” nature of a standard education system in which too many children with unique challenges are left behind.
“So we take into account whether a student has a certain learning disability like dyslexia, and put that into our kind of generation process,” Ketola said.
As of this writing, Asobo’s learning modules consist of multiple choice, matching, and fill-in-the-blank questions. The modules adjust to each grade level and challenges students to compete game-like “Quests” driven by research-backed engagement strategies. At each level, the platform maintains a similar look and game-like interface—similar to Duolingo, but with an Outer Space visual theme.
Developing Asobo
Looking forward, Ketola stated that modules for science, social studies, and other subjects will be built in alongside the core math offerings soon. The startup is also working on specialized game formats for each grade level and learning area.
To make the platform more visually engaging and user-friendly, Asobo will also introduce a mascot called Asobe—an extraterrestrial explorer in keeping with the aforementioned Outer Space theme.
As he continues to implement changes and improvements like these, Ketola noted that maintaining his position as a private school teacher has helped with internal testing. He has close access to relevant users who have offered feedback on what may help the platform become more usable and effective.
“It has been really great for getting experience, seeing what it’s like inside the classroom and how [students] use software like this,” Ketola said.
When development is complete, the platform will operate on a freemium model, with a two-week free trial for new users to start off.
Families will have access to one of two paid plans. The first will be the family monthly plan for $19.99 per month, offering unlimited lessons, advanced progress checking, and multi-child support. The second will be the annual option, which comes with the same features but includes priority phone support and custom integrations. The teacher plan is free and loaded with classroom management tools, curriculum creation tools, and assignment distribution.
QUICK BITS
Startup: Asobo
Founder: Austin Ketola
Founded: 2023
Team size: 1
Location: Raleigh
Website: asoboeducation.com
Funding: Bootstrapped
This fall, Asobo was awarded a $10,000 MICRO grant by the NC IDEA Foundation. To build on this momentum, the startup is also aiming to have a presence at the Future of Education Technology Conference in Orlando this coming January. Ketola will use this conference to boost Asobo’s presence in the education space.
The startup is also running email campaigns with school districts and employing LinkedIn automation platforms to target curriculum coordinators and demonstrate what Asobo has to offer.
“I want Asobo to become the gold standard of K-12 edtech products or platforms, and [integrate more behavioral science] into the holistic learning profiles,” Ketola said.
Asobo’s demo is currently available to use through their website.
