Edtech startup paddy has raised €1 million in pre-seed funding, with High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) as lead investor. Launched only six months ago, the company has developed an AI-powered platform designed to give teachers more time throughout the school day, enabling greater focus on individual student support. The platform assists with lesson planning, generates tailored teaching materials in multiple formats, provides digital tools for classroom delivery, and offers learning progress analysis.
Since launch, the platform has attracted 12,000 active users. Founded in North Rhine-Westphalia by Matty Frommann, Lukas Portmann, and Tobias Schröder — three children of teachers who recently completed their own schooling — the startup addresses one of the most pressing issues in education: teacher workload.
“paddy shows how stress for teachers can be reduced while also introducing students early to the use of AI. In addition to a convincing product, the team itself has been most impressive: despite a very young age, the founders already demonstrate an extraordinary sense of entrepreneurship – and I am curious to see where this shared journey leads!” said Felix Assion, Investment Manager at HTGF.
The target market is significant: approximately two million teachers work at more than 40,000 schools in the DACH region (Source: Agentur für Arbeit). Pragmatic solutions to ease teachers’ daily tasks remain scarce. A Bitkom study found that over 70% of educators see overload and teacher shortages as central challenges, with more than half reporting that growing class sizes leave little time for individual student needs. By automating repetitive tasks, paddy’s AI enables educators to return to core teaching activities. Revenue in the mid-six-figure range is projected by the end of 2025.
“I have as a student experienced firsthand how strongly many of our teachers were under pressure – hardly any time for individual support, despite the willingness being there. That is exactly where the idea for paddy was born,” said Matty Frommann, co-founder and CEO of paddy.
The concept was shaped by years of breakfast-table conversations in households of teachers, often centered on overcrowded classrooms, excessive administrative tasks after school, and the frustration of not meeting the needs of every student. During the pandemic, the founders organized on-site teacher training sessions and observed the severe impact of digital and structural deficits in schools. In 2024, DigitalErleben GmbH was founded, launching the paddy platform in January 2025.
The platform takes over the daily tasks that overcrowd teachers’ calendars — without additional workload or lengthy onboarding. It identifies the topic, target group, and learning objectives, proposes suitable task formats, methods, and materials, creates differentiated content, and analyzes student performance to guide the next steps. The system enables quick insights into class progress and identifies where support is most needed. Instead of switching between multiple tools, folders, and to-do lists, educators can devote more time to individual support, meaningful feedback, and building stronger connections with students.