A New Zealand-founded AI education platform has raised $2.3m to expand a tool designed to reduce teacher burnout worldwide.

Teacher’s Buddy, created by entrepreneurs Matt Abraham and Ben Sze, helps teachers cut workload by automating lesson planning, assessment, marking, and report writing while staying aligned to curriculum requirements.

The company has secured $2.3m in trans-Tasman seed funding led by Soul Capital and Australia-based Giant Leap, following rapid uptake across more than 130 countries in its first 18 months.

The platform uses AI to generate differentiated lesson plans, assessments, planning documents, and personalised learning materials.

It can align content with Te Reo language preferences, Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, and curriculum values, while supporting neurodiverse learners, English language learners, and students at different ability levels.

Data from the company shows teachers using the platform save an average of two hours each day, time that can be redirected to face-to-face work with students.

Research cited by the founders shows New Zealand teachers report higher stress levels than the OECD average, with one third saying they experience stress frequently and full-time teachers averaging 47.5 hours a week.

Abraham says the platform was built after nearly a decade on the board of trustees at his children’s school in Northland, where he saw first-hand the pressure teachers face.

More than 25 schools across New Zealand are already adopting, trialling, or contributing to the platform.

For Hibiscus Coast students, reduced teacher admin time can mean more one-to-one support in the classroom.

Many local students attend schools grappling with the same workload pressures seen nationwide, and tools that free teacher time can support more individual attention in the classroom.

Soul Capital venture principal Jon Sandbrook says the education sector is caught between rising expectations and limited capacity, and that AI-enabled tools offer a chance to rethink how teachers are supported without losing sight of learner needs.

Teacher’s Buddy is now preparing to launch a second-generation platform, including personalised professional development tools for teachers and a new extension allowing textbook publishers and education resource providers to license curriculum-aligned content into the system.

The company aims to grow to more than 30,000 teachers and 200 school partners across New Zealand, Australia, and the UK within the next 12 months, with founders saying New Zealand will remain central to its long-term vision.

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