Sam Altman-backed edtech startup Campus acquires former Meta VP’s Sizzle AI platform — Here’s what we know
Sam Altman-backed education technology startup ‘Campus’ announced that they have acquired the artificial intelligence (AI) learning platform called ‘Sizzle AI’, founded by former Meta Vice President Jerome Pesenti, in order to strengthen the company’s engineering roadmap.
Campus Founder and Chancellor Tade Oyerinde said in his statement, “Acquiring Sizzle accelerates our engineering roadmap by 2-3 years; they have built the best artificial intelligence team in education and their infrastructure is far ahead of anyone else. This is very exciting.”
Sizzle AI has created an AI learning app used by over 1.7 million people to help students learn or practice any subject with interactive, AI-generated content, according to the official announcement.
Following the acquisition move, Campus plans to leverage and integrate this technology ‘to help students stay on track and overcome disruptions in their academic journey’.
“Big Tech has spent years developing artificial intelligence to keep people scrolling, but we are leveraging the potential of that same technology to enhance thought, encourage inquiry, and deepen human relationships,” said Jerome Pesenti, founder of Sizzle AI.
Who is Jerome Pesenti?
Following the acquisition, Jerome Pesenti currently serves as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Ed-tech startup Campus. Before founding AI platform Sizzle AI, Pesenti spent four years and six months as Vice President of Artificial Intelligence at Meta Platforms Inc.
Pesenti began his career as a Visiting Scientist at Carnegie Mellon University in the Greater Pittsburgh Region of the United States. In 2000, he co-founded Vivisimo, a research and innovation startup that was later acquired by tech giant IBM. In addition to being a co-founder, he also served as the Chief Scientist at the startup.
Jerome Pesenti joined IBM in 2012 and stayed there until August 2016 before joining an artificial intelligence company called Benevolent AI. Pesenti spent just over three years at the company before moving to Meta’s AI wing.
Who are the investors of the campus?
According to its official website, education technology startup ‘Campus’ is backed by leading technology investors such as Founders Fund, General Catalyst, Bloomberg Beta, Sam Altman, Shaquille O’Neal, Joe Lonsdale, Jason Citron and Dylan Field.
The company has now raised more than $100 million in a Series B round that aims to leverage AI technology and the skills of machine learning scientists from MIT, Harvard and IBM Watson to lead campus engineering.
Campus is an initiative designed for students looking for affordable education. The company aims to provide ‘a faster launchpad to a career or a four-year degree’ through online offerings such as live, online classes taught by top professors, dedicated advisors and on-demand lectures.
