Zzish

Zzish is a London-based educational technology firm, established in 2013, that develops data-driven software to enhance learning outcomes. The company was founded by Charles Wiles and Daisy Hill. The inspiration for the company stemmed from Wiles' personal experience when his son faced learning difficulties, coupled with Hill's insights into the challenges teachers face in personalizing education for large classes. Wiles brings a deep technical background to the venture, with a PhD in AI and Robotics from Oxford University and experience as Google's first product manager hired outside the US, where he was involved in the initial development of Android. Hill's expertise is in sales and operations, having worked at successful tech scale-ups like Reward Gateway and Eventbrite.

Zzish operates on a diversified business model with four primary revenue streams: direct subscriptions from students and teachers, sales to schools and districts, government contracts, and partnerships. The company's core market is the K-12 education sector, but it is expanding into corporate training. Its flagship product, Quizalize, is a gamified formative assessment platform used by over six million teachers and students across more than 170 countries. For teachers, Quizalize provides tools to create engaging quizzes and games, which generate real-time data on student performance, highlighting learning gaps and enabling personalized instruction. For school and district leaders, a corresponding product called Zzish Insights aggregates this data, offering a macroscopic view of academic progress across classes and schools to inform targeted support and intervention.

The company also offers Quizalize Learner, a white-label, self-paced learning application that partners can brand and customize with their own content. This service is aimed at a range of clients, from publishers like Oxford University Press to corporations seeking internal training solutions. The platform integrates with major educational tools like Google Classroom and has demonstrated tangible impact, with studies showing it can improve student test scores by 8-10%. Zzish has successfully raised approximately $6 million through a combination of venture capital from firms like Leaf Investments and Techstars, and several record-breaking equity crowdfunding campaigns on Crowdcube.

Keywords: EdTech, formative assessment, gamification, K-12 education, data-driven education, personalized learning, teacher tools, student assessment, virtual teaching assistant, school analytics, corporate training, AI in education, learning analytics, Quizalize, classroom engagement, curriculum alignment, professional development, white-label learning app, educational software, mobile learning, SaaS