In the DACH region, around two million teachers work across 40,000 schools, but shortages, swelling class sizes, and administrative burdens are pushing the education system to its limits. A Bitkom study shows that over 70% of educators feel chronically overworked, and more than half say larger classes prevent meaningful one‑on‑one time with students. Bielefeld‑based edtech startup paddy is tackling these challenges with an AI platform that supports teachers across the entire teaching cycle.
Today, the company has raised €1 million in pre‑seed funding, led by High‑Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF). The round sets paddy’s current valuation at €1 million, as shared exclusively with TFN. Launched in January 2025, the platform already has over 12,000 active teacher users just six months post‑launch.
As Matty Frommann, CEO and co-founder of paddy, tells TFN: “Our goal is to develop tools that not only empower teachers but also improve student outcomes. This funding round will help us accelerate these efforts and extend our platform’s reach to more educators who face overwhelming demands daily.”
“Teacher kids” with one common pain point
Founded in 2024 by Matty Frommann, Lukas Portmann, and Tobias Schröder, paddy was born out of lived experience. All three founders are “teacher kids” who saw the profession’s pain points up close: overcrowded classrooms, endless grading, and no capacity for tailored student support.
The idea took shape during the pandemic when the team ran digital skills training for local educators, highlighting the lack of cohesive, AI‑driven tools in schools. paddy’s mission is clear: to reduce teacher workload through innovative AI technology, freeing up educators to focus on personalised learning and better student outcomes.
Matty Frommann explains to TFN: “I saw firsthand as a student how overwhelmed many teachers were: no time for individual support, even though the intention was there. That’s what sparked the idea for paddy.”
The overall team includes 13 employees, two of whom are women.
All‑in‑one platform for the entire teaching cycle
paddy is a full‑cycle AI teaching assistant that streamlines every phase of teaching. For instance, teachers start by specifying the topic, target group, and learning objectives; the platform then recommends matching tasks and methods, and generates differentiated content tailored for different learning levels. It also offers digital tools for lesson delivery and analytics to assess class performance, guiding next steps to close learning gaps.
What sets paddy apart from competitors such as Classcraft, Kahoot!, and Edmodo is its all‑in‑one integration, covering planning, preparation, delivery, and follow‑up, combined with ease of adoption and no additional training requirement.
As Frommann puts it: “Our platform helps teachers focus on what matters most by reducing administrative overhead and enabling truly personalised student support.”
Scaling for the DACH region and beyond
For 2025, the company is targeting mid six‑figure revenues while continuing to grow its footprint across the DACH region, build partnerships with schools and education ministries, and enhance product features.
Felix Assion, Investment Manager at HTGF, said: “paddy shows how we can reduce stress for teachers while helping students develop AI skills at an early stage. Beyond the impressive product, it’s the team that won me over: despite their young age, they already demonstrate remarkable entrepreneurial intuition.”
Over the next three to five years, paddy plans to roll out more advanced AI capabilities, integrate with other major educational tools, and begin exploring international markets beyond Europe. The strategic aim is to become the default operating system for teachers, allowing schools to deliver scalable, personalised instruction while reducing repetitive admin work.
