Tech Spark AI builds Spark Plug, a generative AI platform and web application intended as a Black-owned alternative to mainstream AI chat/search tools. Its first iteration translates classic literature into modern language and into African American Vernacular English (AAVE), targeting Gen Z users. The company also offers LearningDNA, an assessment tool that personalizes instruction (for example, presenting concepts via hip-hop melodies for auditory learners). Spark Plug was trained using input from the founder's daughter, Harlem Renaissance authors, and civil rights activists, and has partnered with educational institutions in the U.S. and Canada, prioritizing underserved Black and brown communities. The team plans to expand the number of dialects the product can translate to reflect diverse Black voices globally. Tech Spark AI has faced fundraising challenges but has secured external support to develop its inclusive generative-AI offering. Tech Spark develops Spark Plug, an AI- and data-driven personalized learning platform designed primarily for Black middle school students. Spark Plug uses a proprietary algorithm to identify each student’s intelligence type and learning level and delivers culturally responsive content—including hip-hop/pop audio medleys—to reinforce reading and math concepts. The company provides teachers with data insights and curriculum-aligned content tailored to students’ cultural intelligence. Tech Spark positions its product as a way to mitigate pandemic-related learning loss that disproportionately affects Black students. The company says it is poised to reach over 40,000 students in school districts in Canada and the US by 2024. The organization also describes itself as Canada’s first edtech and curriculum design school committed to empowering racialized students, women, and teachers. Tamar Huggins is the founder and CEO who leads product and company strategy.

Total raised

$2M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Seed

Latest activity

Nov 2023