Join us for another Bay Area Edtech Happy Hour at Barebottle in the sunny Salesforce Park! Co-hosted by our incredible sponsors, Reach Capital, Cooley, Tuck Advisors, Starbridge, and Magic Edtech. We can’t wait to see you there.
Please RSVP if you plan to join us!
Thursday, May 15 4 PM - 6:30 PM PST Barebottle, Salesforce Park
Cooley LLP is the go-to law firm for edtech innovators, from early childhood through workforce. Informed by decades of experience in the education vertical, Cooley created the first edtech practice to provide industry-informed, business-minded counsel to companies and organizations at all stages of the corporate lifecycle. Cooley provides a multidisciplinary approach to client needs, offering seamless collaboration across offices and practices.
To learn more about what Cooley can do for you, reach out to Naomi May.
1. Draft EO Outlines Plan to Integrate AI into K-12 Schools
A draft executive order titled "Advancing Artificial Intelligence Education for American Youth," obtained by The Washington Post, outlines the Trump administration's plan to integrate AI into K-12 education. The proposal includes establishing a White House task force, promoting AI literacy, partnering with private and academic institutions, and incorporating AI into teacher training and classroom activities. It also introduces a "Presidential AI Challenge" to encourage student and educator engagement and directs the Department of Labor to establish AI-related apprenticeships.
Duolingo has unveiled 148 new language courses developed using generative AI, effectively doubling its offerings in a fraction of the time it previously took to create content. This expansion aligns with the company's recent shift toward an "AI-first" strategy, which includes plans to phase out contractors for tasks that AI can manage. While Duolingo highlights the efficiency and scalability benefits of AI integration, the move has sparked user backlash over concerns about content quality and the displacement of human workers.
Meta has launched a standalone AI app, powered by its Llama 4 model, aiming to rival ChatGPT and Google Assistant. The app offers personalized interactions by leveraging user data from Facebook and Instagram, includes a "Discover" feed for sharing AI interactions, and features voice mode communication. Announced at Meta's inaugural LlamaCon developer conference, the company also revealed plans for a premium tier and advertising integration in the future.
Google has expanded its AI-powered NotebookLM's Audio Overviews feature to support over 50 languages, including Spanish, Hindi, Korean, and Turkish. This tool transforms user-uploaded documents into podcast-style summaries featuring conversational AI hosts, enhancing accessibility for a global audience. The multilingual rollout is part of Google's broader initiative to make AI-driven learning tools more inclusive and interactive.
The Wikimedia Foundation's new AI strategy emphasizes enhancing Wikipedia's human-led model by integrating AI tools to support, not replace, its volunteer editors. The initiative focuses on automating routine tasks, improving content discoverability, facilitating multilingual contributions, and mentoring new contributors, all while adhering to principles of transparency, open-source development, and human agency.
HireEducation has released its inaugural 2025 Salary Report, providing the first data set of its kind focused exclusively on compensation trends in the education products and services sector—from Pre-K to workforce development.
This edition of The Edtech Insiders Newsletter is sponsored by Starbridge.
Too often, outbound sales in EdTech feels like guesswork. Starbridge surfaces early buying signals - meeting minutes, strategic plans, competitor contract expiration dates, and RFPs - to help your team build an accurate, predictable pipeline. See why revenue teams at Collegevine, Amira learning, and Kiddom rely on Starbridge for predictable EdTech growth.
Levi explains Merlin Mind’s evolution from stealth mode to a classroom AI assistant that genuinely meets teachers’ needs. Early hesitation about AI led the team to focus on solving simple, real classroom problems with voice-first technology.
"Teachers didn’t want AI—they wanted something that helped them teach better. So we built a voice assistant that lets them focus on students, not tabs and tech." - Levi Belnap
Classroom in Motion: What Merlin Looks Like in Practice
Our conversation dives into a a “day in the life” of a Merlin-enabled classroom—teachers use a remote to control timers, share links, navigate lessons, and even generate questions or discussions on the fly.
"Merlin lets teachers teach like TED speakers—moving freely, commanding tech with their voice, and staying fully present with their students." - Levi Belnap
Unlocking Teacher Potential, Not Replacing It
Levi addresses common fears about AI replacing teachers. Instead, he positions Merlin as a tool that removes tech friction and empowers educators to personalize learning more effectively.
"The secret sauce isn’t us—it’s teachers. We’re just helping them do more of what they do best." - Levi Belnap
Equity and Engagement: Spanish Support & Student Devices
Merlin recently launched full Spanish-language support and began pushing translated instructions to student Chromebooks, allowing multilingual access and better engagement during independent work.
"Now instructions appear in Spanish—or any language—on every student’s device, so no one gets left behind during learning time." - Levi Belnap
The Bigger Vision: Attention is Everything
Levi shares the company’s belief that the most valuable classroom resource is attention. By giving teachers control over devices and transitions, Merlin fosters flow, focus, and emotional connection in class.
"Class time is sacred—we're here to remove distraction and help teachers make the most of every minute." - Levi Belnap
Curious to Learn More?
You can listen to our full interview with Levi Belnap, as well as interviews with many other edtech founders, investors, and thought leaders at The Edtech Insiders Podcast! Check it out, and as always, we’d love to hear what you think!
This edition of the Edtech Insiders Newsletter is sponsored byTuck Advisors.
Since 2017, Tuck Advisors has been a trusted name in Education M&A. Run by serial entrepreneurs with over 25 years of experience in founding, investing in, and selling companies, we believe you deserve M&A advisors who work as hard as you do. Tuck Advisors is offering an exclusive opportunity to acquire a premium portfolio of 314 education-focused web domains with strong SEO, brand authority, and monetization potential. Contact us to learn more.
