Building the first AI-native education system for the future of work

Founded: 2019
Investment: Valor led seed round, 2022
Category: Artificial Intelligence, edtech, gaming

Why Valor Invested

Education is one of the largest—and most structurally misaligned—markets in the world. While students grow up immersed in interactive, multiplayer digital environments, education has remained largely static, disengaging, and disconnected from real economic outcomes.

Valor led the seed investment in Stemuli because the company is not incrementally improving education—it is rebuilding it for an AI-driven economy. Stemuli is creating the first AI-native learning system, designed from the ground up to meet learners where they are, equip them with durable skills, and connect learning directly to opportunity.

We believe Stemuli represents a rare convergence of:

• Deep technological innovation

• Clear workforce and wage outcomes

• Scalable distribution through institutional partners

• National relevance at a moment of urgent need

Following Valor’s lead investment—alongside Slauson & Co with participation from Draper Associates—Stride, the nation’s largest online education provider, made a significant strategic investment and became a customer. The company is also supported by the Gates Foundation and recognized globally by the United Nations AI for Good initiative.

This validation—from capital markets, customers, and policymakers—underscores Stemuli’s potential to shape the future of education at national scale.

What Stemuli Does

Stemuli is building the world’s first AI-native education platform—an immersive, multiplayer 3D environment where learners build math skills, AI literacy, and career readiness through play.

At the center of the experience is a personalized AI companion that guides each learner through quests inside a living digital city. Students strengthen persistence, practice problem-solving, and explore career pathways while mastering foundational and advanced skills needed in an AI-driven workforce.

The platform blends:

• Immersive game design inspired by the worlds students already love

• AI-driven personalization tailored to each learner

• Career-aligned learning paths connected to real economic opportunity

Stemuli’s curriculum spans:

• Math skill development

• AI literacy and safety

• Large language models (LLMs)

• Machine learning fundamentals

• Prompting and applied AI skills

• AI use cases in the workplace and finance

• Career-specific elective modules

The result is what Stemuli calls “the game that builds the future.”

Evidence of Impact

Stemuli’s approach is already delivering measurable outcomes:

• Higher wages: At P-TECH, the world’s largest early college high school in Dallas County, students using Stemuli graduated into roles earning $60,000–$70,000 on average, compared to peer averages of approximately $46,000.

• Scaled engagement: In partnership with Stride, Stemuli transformed 672 K-12 courses into immersive game-based experiences for more than 300,000 students, driving improvements in math proficiency, time-on-task, and college and career readiness.

• Statewide workforce programs: Stemuli has supported initiatives such as Georgia’s digital agriculture career pathways, helping assess and grow measurable workforce skills across K-12 systems.

National and Global Reach

Stemuli’s leadership and vision are shaping national conversations on AI and education. Founder and CEO Taylor Shead has been invited to participate in a White House national roundtable on Artificial Intelligence in Education, contributing to a new vision for how the U.S. prepares young people for the future of work.

Through a flagship partnership with Heartland Forward, Stemuli is launching a first-of-its-kind gamified AI upskilling program for rural students and entrepreneurs—supporting Heartland Forward’s goal to generate $500 million in economic impact by 2030.

Looking Ahead

Stemuli will launch its immersive platform to schools and families nationwide in January 2026. This marks the first step in the company’s broader pledge: ensuring that every student in America—regardless of geography or background—has a real opportunity to thrive in the AI economy.

For Valor, Stemuli exemplifies courageous, systems-level innovation: technology that does not merely optimize outcomes, but expands access, raises wages, and redefines what education can be.