Revolutionising Support and Reducing Burnout for Teachers Through AI Innovation
TeachMate is an AI-driven platform that uses artificial intelligence to aid schoolteachers with their daily administrative tasks. Sold directly to teachers, TeachMate gives time back to educators so they can focus on what they enjoy – teaching.
Dr Jon Chippindall, co-founder and CEO of TeachMate
The startup
The UK education sector has an overarching teacher retention issue, with between 30,000 and 40,000 teachers leaving the profession each year, many citing workloads as the primary reason for doing so.
As a primary school teacher, TeachMate co-founder and CEO, Dr Jon Chippindall, has seen firsthand the extent of the problem and established the platform with a desire to improve efficiencies and time optimisation for teachers.
TeachMate has the capability for teachers to go on to the platform and ask for a draft of a lesson plan or a worksheet – essentially, any task that would usually take up a lot of time – harnessing the power of AI to produce it for them.
The platform is not designed to replace teachers, but instead to leverage AI’s ability to help teachers save time on administrative tasks. Teachers still have professional oversight and input into these resources but have TeachMate acting as a ‘teaching assistant’.
The support we provided
The startup secured a coveted spot on the first cohort of TIC’s AI accelerator, a programme that supports Greater Manchester founders by providing guidance and mentorship to help them scale their businesses and access investment.
At the time of onboarding, TeachMate was in the early stages of development, having been in business for six to eight months. Despite this, the platform was already experiencing rapid growth, with 100,000 regular users.
As a new co-founder and entrepreneur, Jon and his team needed support in learning how to scale their business, and the six-month hybrid programme provided them with the platform to do so. The accelerator is structured into two pillars – the taught elements and supporting mentorship – bridging the gap by covering all aspects of business development.
Dr Jon Chippindall, co-founder and CEO at TeachMate, said:
“I often describe myself as an accidental CEO because it wasn’t the plan. As a primary school teacher, I found myself quickly trying to fill the gaps in my knowledge to run and scale a business.
That’s where the TIC programme really came in. It offered a clear distinction between the taught course and the mentorship opportunities. The taught course itself was an excellent way to deepen my understanding of how to start and scale a business, while the mentorship from entrepreneurs in residence and coaches provided practical, real-world insights and guidance.
I think we gained particular benefit from the mentorship opportunities, especially because every business is in a different position, and it can be challenging to make a taught course applicable to everyone’s unique needs. The mentorship was invaluable. We worked closely with David Levine on a major project, and he connected us with developers and asked the tough questions, which is exactly what we needed.
That personalised approach is crucial in any business programme, and the TIC accelerator team was fantastic in recognising our needs and supporting us throughout the scale-up process.”
Where are they now?
Impressively, the TeachMate platform now has over 300,000 users, saving teachers on average 10 hours a week when using the platform. Jon and the team no longer consider their business a start-up; it has now evolved into a scale-up, building the organisation as an established part of the tech ecosystem, growing their team, and working to cement their position in the industry.
