Kira Learning Launches AI-Native Platform to Transform K-12 Education

AI agents enter the classroom

AI for education is a new but rapidly expanding field. Can it support student outcomes and help teachers avoid burnout? On Wednesday, AI education company Kira launched a "fully AI-native learning platform" for K-12 education, complete with agents to assist teachers with repetitive tasks. The platform hosts assignments, analyzes progress data, offers administrative assistance, helps build lesson plans and quizzes, and more. Also: Google's One AI Premium plan with Gemini Advanced is now free for students - for an entire year "Unlike traditional tools that merely layer AI onto existing platforms, Kira integrates artificial intelligence directly into every educational workflow -- from lesson planning and instruction to grading, intervention, and reporting," the release explains. "This enables schools to improve student outcomes, streamline operations, and provide personalized support at scale." As with most current applications of AI, and specifically agents, Kira's aim is to free up time for teachers to be present with students, especially those who need personalized support. The company says the new platform allows educators to create lesson plans "instantly" without sacrificing individualized feedback for students, and even grades assignments automatically with features like AI Grader and a plagiarism checker. Also: Where AI educators are replacing teachers - and how that'll work However thorough the platform's analysis may be, it's hard not to think that something may be lost in having a teacher review assignments through the eyes of an AI agent. Kira says its AI can also help detect when students are struggling and make recommendations to teachers on how to support them early on. The platform can ingest instructional data like text, audio, video, and images, evaluating projects and classroom discussions to assess a student's needs. Also: The tasks college students are using Claude AI for most, according to Anthropic "Kira's agents deliver insights in seconds, empowering teachers to make faster, smarter instructional decisions," the release says. It also aggregates data on student progress for administrators monitoring performance at a district level. AI is adept at personalization, a burgeoning field in education technology that can help address students' specific needs without pulling teachers away from the class at large. Also: The tasks college students are using Claude AI for most, according to Anthropic "Personalized learning doesn't mean uncontrolled or entirely self-directed pacing; rather, Kira delivers concepts and content in ways that uniquely resonate with each learner while ensuring the overall pacing, benchmarks, and coursework structure remain firmly within the teacher's control," Kira CEO Andrea Pasinetti told ZDNET. "This approach allows the entire class to move forward cohesively, even as each student receives personalized guidance tailored to their individual needs." Kira -- which is backed by computer scientist Andrew Ng, who is also the founder and CEO of DeepLearning AI -- was originally developed specifically for computer science and AI literacy but has now expanded into all subject areas, including the humanities. It's currently being implemented in schools across Tennessee through a partnership with the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network, though that appears to be specific to computer science courses for middle and high school students. Rather than train its own AI models, the company opted for commercial ones. "We've found that using agentic workflows yields much stronger and more consistent results than fine-tuning open-source or smaller models, especially for our educational use cases," Pasinetti explained. He added that Kira maintains privacy by anonymizing data. Also: Anthropic launches Claude for Education, an AI to help students think critically But how do teachers feel about the technology? "It's intuitive, saves me countless hours, and significantly enhances student learning outcomes," Lance Key, a Future Ready VITAL Support Specialist in Putnam County, Tennessee, said in the release. Educators are notoriously overworked and underpaid, especially amidst rising disagreements with parents over curriculum. Pasinetti says teachers have even approached Kira with ideas for new features and tools. "We believe this stems from the fundamentally generative nature of AI tools, which empowers teachers as creators," he says. Also: ChatGPT Plus is free for students now - how to grab this deal before finals ZDNET was not able to interview educators using Kira directly before publishing this story but will follow up as more schools adopt the technology. Get the morning's top stories in your inbox each day with our Tech Today newsletter.

AI agents arrive in US classrooms

AI for education is a new but rapidly expanding field. Can it support student outcomes and help teachers avoid burnout? On Wednesday, AI education company Kira launched a "fully AI-native learning platform" for K-12 education, complete with agents to assist teachers with repetitive tasks. The platform hosts assignments, analyzes progress data, offers administrative assistance, helps build lesson plans and quizzes, and more. Also: Google's One AI Premium plan with Gemini Advanced is now free for students - for an entire year "Unlike traditional tools that merely layer AI onto existing platforms, Kira integrates artificial intelligence directly into every educational workflow -- from lesson planning and instruction to grading, intervention, and reporting," the release explains. "This enables schools to improve student outcomes, streamline operations, and provide personalized support at scale." As with most current applications of AI, and specifically agents, Kira's aim is to free up time for teachers to be present with students, especially those who need personalized support. The company says the new platform allows educators to create lesson plans "instantly" without sacrificing individualized feedback for students, and even grades assignments automatically with features like AI Grader and a plagiarism checker. Also: Where AI educators are replacing teachers - and how that'll work However thorough the platform's analysis may be, it's hard not to think that something may be lost in having a teacher review assignments through the eyes of an AI agent. Kira says its AI can also help detect when students are struggling and make recommendations to teachers on how to support them early on. The platform can ingest instructional data like text, audio, video, and images, evaluating projects and classroom discussions to assess a student's needs. Also: The tasks college students are using Claude AI for most, according to Anthropic "Kira's agents deliver insights in seconds, empowering teachers to make faster, smarter instructional decisions," the release says. It also aggregates data on student progress for administrators monitoring performance at a district level. AI is adept at personalization, a burgeoning field in education technology that can help address students' specific needs without pulling teachers away from the class at large. Also: The tasks college students are using Claude AI for most, according to Anthropic "Personalized learning doesn't mean uncontrolled or entirely self-directed pacing; rather, Kira delivers concepts and content in ways that uniquely resonate with each learner while ensuring the overall pacing, benchmarks, and coursework structure remain firmly within the teacher's control," Kira CEO Andrea Pasinetti told ZDNET. "This approach allows the entire class to move forward cohesively, even as each student receives personalized guidance tailored to their individual needs." Kira -- which is backed by computer scientist Andrew Ng, who is also the founder and CEO of DeepLearning AI -- was originally developed specifically for computer science and AI literacy but has now expanded into all subject areas, including the humanities. It's currently being implemented in schools across Tennessee through a partnership with the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network, though that appears to be specific to computer science courses for middle and high school students. Rather than train its own AI models, the company opted for commercial ones. "We've found that using agentic workflows yields much stronger and more consistent results than fine-tuning open-source or smaller models, especially for our educational use cases," Pasinetti explained. He added that Kira maintains privacy by anonymizing data. Also: Anthropic launches Claude for Education, an AI to help students think critically But how do teachers feel about the technology? "It's intuitive, saves me countless hours, and significantly enhances student learning outcomes," Lance Key, a Future Ready VITAL Support Specialist in Putnam County, Tennessee, said in the release. Educators are notoriously overworked and underpaid, especially amidst rising disagreements with parents over curriculum. Pasinetti says teachers have even approached Kira with ideas for new features and tools. "We believe this stems from the fundamentally generative nature of AI tools, which empowers teachers as creators," he says. Also: ChatGPT Plus is free for students now - how to grab this deal before finals ZDNET was not able to interview educators using Kira directly before publishing this story but will follow up as more schools adopt the technology. Get the morning's top stories in your inbox each day with our Tech Today newsletter.

Coursera Founder Andrew Ng's New Venture Brings A.I. to K-12 Classrooms

Andrew Ng's Kira Learning uses A.I. agents to transform K-12 education with tools for teachers, students and administrators. If you've followed A.I. in recent years, you've likely encountered the name Andrew Ng. The founder Google Brain (now part of Google DeepMind) is among the most influential figures in applied A.I. and promoting A.I. literacy. In addition to teaching computer science at Stanford University, Ng has founded education platforms like Coursera and DeepLearning.AI to help professionals apply A.I. across industries. His latest initiative is Kira Learning, a startup aiming to transform K-12 education in the U.S. with A.I. agents. Backed by Ng's AI Fund, Kira counts him as both investor and chairman. Sign Up For Our Daily Newsletter Sign Up Thank you for signing up! By clicking submit, you agree to our <a href="http://observermedia.com/terms">terms of service</a> and acknowledge we may use your information to send you emails, product samples, and promotions on this website and other properties. You can opt out anytime. See all of our newsletters "Teachers today are overloaded with repetitive tasks. A.I. agents can change that, and free up their time to give more personalized help to students," Ng said in a statement. Kira was co-founded by Andrea Pasinetti and Jagriti Agrawal, both longtime collaborators of Ng. The platform embeds A.I. directly into lesson planning, instruction, grading and reporting. Teachers can instantly generate standards-aligned lesson plans, monitor student progress in real time and receive automated intervention strategies when a student falls behind. Students, in turn, receive on-demand tutoring tailored to their learning styles. A.I. agents adapt to each student's pace and mastery level, while grading is automated with instant feedback -- giving educators time to focus on teaching. "Kira's AI tutor works alongside teachers as an intelligent co-educator, adapting in real-time to each student's learning style and emotional state," Pasinetti, Kira's CEO, told Observer. "It generates personalized practice problems, empowering teachers to deliver effective instruction, even in subjects they may not initially have deep expertise in." Administrators gain access to real-time analytics across classrooms and school districts, including data on engagement, outcomes and instructional quality. These insights support curriculum improvements and smarter resource allocation. The platform currently supports STEM, humanities and career and technical education (CTE), and can process text, video, audio and images. It delivers immediate feedback on everything from essays to science experiments. Kira's key differentiator, according to CEO Andrea Pasinetti, lies in its architecture. While most learning platforms bolt on A.I. as an afterthought, Kira was purpose-built to integrate generative A.I. agents from the ground up. Schools can adopt it as a full learning management system (LMS) or embed its agents into existing platforms, allowing districts to customize based on their current infrastructure. Pasinetti notes that traditional LMS providers have become stagnant under private equity ownership, focusing more on profits than innovation. Kira, by contrast, offers a streamlined, all-in-one A.I. solution that works within the realities of how schools already operate. This flexible approach has driven early traction. The platform is already being deployed across U.S. school districts, including an statewide initiative in Tennessee, and is beginning to expand internationally. "Tennessee's statewide adoption has highlighted the importance of adaptability to diverse district resources, varying levels of tech maturity and distinct student needs," Pasinetti said. "We ensure data is actionable by directly linking insights to specific, suggested interventions, while upholding strict privacy and always prioritizing transparency." Kira's mission reflects Ng's core philosophy: A.I. should enhance, not replace, human professionals -- and personalized, high-quality education should be accessible to all. Ng has authored more than 200 research papers in machine learning, robotics and related A.I. disciplines. As founder and CEO of Landing AI, he focuses on building practical tools for manufacturing and industrial automation. Through AI Fund, Ng has backed over 40 A.I.-driven startups across healthcare, media and finance. Notable investments include Jivi, an India-based platform that assists doctors with diagnosis, treatment planning and administrative tasks; Podcastle, which streamlines podcast production with A.I.; and Octagon AI, a research tool for A.I.-powered investment analysis.