According to Forbes, the 2026 30 Under 30 Education list is dominated by entrepreneurs leveraging AI to transform learning. Jasmin Barkett, 29, raised $2 million for her AI-powered literacy tool ROYO, which personalizes stories and listens as children read aloud, now used by 3,000 teachers. Other honorees include Rowan Cheung, 25, whose AI newsletter The Rundown has 1.35 million subscribers, and the cofounders of StudyFetch, who have raised $11.5 million for a platform with nearly 6 million users. The list, selected from nearly 800 applications by a panel of expert judges, also highlights ventures like Coral AI, serving 630,000 users across 190 countries, and Kollegio, which has used AI to support 110,000 college applicants. The 2026 class is 41% women, 48% people of color, and 90% founders, all under 30 as of December 31, 2025.
The AI Tutor Everywhere
Here’s the thing: the sheer breadth of AI application here is staggering. It’s not just one niche. You’ve got Barkett tackling foundational literacy for elementary kids, while Atluri and Figdore’s Coral AI is serving academics and researchers. Then there’s Rowan Cheung basically running a massive daily explainer for the general public. The through-line is hyper-personalization at scale. Traditional education struggles with the one-to-many model, but these tools are all trying to create a one-to-one experience—whether it’s a story with a kid’s own avatar or study materials converted to their preferred learning style. That’s the big promise they’re all selling. But can it deliver? The early traction, with user numbers in the hundreds of thousands or even millions, suggests there’s a massive, hungry market for this kind of tailored support.
Beyond The Classroom
What I find interesting is how the list consciously stretches the definition of “education.” Sure, it skews toward K-12 and higher ed tools, but they made a point to include folks like Sara Uy (“SellingSara”) who does sales training on social media. That’s professional development and lifelong learning. It’s a smart acknowledgment that the “how do I learn this?” problem doesn’t stop at graduation. It follows you into your career. So the category is really about skill acquisition, full stop. And AI is becoming the default engine for that across the entire lifespan. Is that a good thing? It probably is for efficiency, but it also raises questions about the human element in coaching and mentorship.
Funding and The Future
Look at the money. $2 million seed for ROYO, $11.5 million for StudyFetch. Investors are clearly betting that AI-driven personalization is the next big wave in edtech. The model is mostly B2B2C or direct-to-consumer via subscriptions and freemium platforms, like Abby Coyle’s ClassBank with 800,000 students. The timing feels right, too. We’re a few years into the generative AI explosion, so these aren’t just speculative ideas—they’re products in the wild with real users. The beneficiaries are theoretically everyone: the student who gets a custom lesson, the teacher who gets a powerful assistant, the professional trying to level up. But the real test is long-term efficacy. Does an AI reading coach create lasting improvement, or is it just a clever engagement tool? The anecdote about the dyslexic student’s improved confidence is powerful, but we’ll need more data.
What Success Looks Like
Forbes included that cool bit about looking back at Advait Shinde from the 2016 list. That’s crucial context. His company, GoGuardian, went from 20,000 teachers to 2 million, and it’s used by nearly half of U.S. K-12 students. That’s the dream trajectory for these 2026 honorees. It’s a reminder that getting on the list is just the starting gun. The real work is scaling impact over a decade. Can ROYO become that ubiquitous for reading? Can The Rundown or Coral AI become the default research companion for millions more? The potential is enormous, but so is the competition and the challenge of evolving with breakneck AI advances. One thing’s for sure: this class is betting their careers that AI isn’t just a helper in education—it’s the new foundation.
