Dubai: A former Dubai student, who is a UAE golden visa holder, has won $280,000 (over Dh1 million) in funding for an edtech firm that he has co-founded in the US.
Once a school topper and currently an Ivy League student, Rahul Nambiar now aims to launch his startup’s app in the UAE to enhance learning and support for students here.
The Indian expat studied at Cambridge International School in Dubai where he topped the school for the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) exams. He then went to a boarding school in the UK prior to joining the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League institution in the US.
He teamed up with another student, Yash Dhir, when they were freshmen and launched ‘Jochi’ in 2021.
“We were looking at ways to improve the learning experience for high-school students in the US during the COVID-19 pandemic,” recalled Rahul.
In response to first-hand experiences addressing the pandemic’s impact on support for neurodiverse students, Jochi 1.0 was born, with a focus on improving the learning outcomes for students with learning differences.
“It was designed to support students with learning differences like dyslexia and ADHD, a growing problem seen during the pandemic,” explained Rahul, who is also the Chief Technology Officer of the firm.
Winning spree
In their fourth year, Rahul and Yash were awarded the University’s President’s Innovation Prize to continue their work post-graduation. They are scheduled to receive $100,000 in grant funding for the company, and a $50,000 living stipend each. Jochi will also have a workplace in the Pennovation Center, University of Pennsylvania’s business incubator.
The duo also won $30,000 from the 2024 Venture Lab Startup Challenge, a competition for the top performing startups at the University of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania region and an additional $50,000 in grant funding from the Draper Foundation, a leading investment firm run by American investor, Tim Draper, that has also offered them direct access to its network and resources.
As an undergraduate, Rahul served as a Teaching Assistant for a graduate-level courses. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with High Honours and was a 2024 Presidential Fellow. Rahul gained practical experience through internships at Rhombus and the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he worked as a software engineer.
“Our early success sparked a bigger question: what if every decision made by educators was informed by deep insights that were personalised down to each student? This vision became Jochi’s mission, transforming how schools leverage data to drive meaningful change. Today, we’re dedicated to helping schools make sense of their data, ensuring resources are directed where they’ll have the greatest impact on student outcomes,” said Rahul, who is now pursuing his Masters in Engineering and Computer Science.
Dubai, the launch pad
The startup’s newest concept, 360 by Jochi – an all-in-one progress monitoring tool that enables educators to go from data to decisions in minutes – helps teachers enhance learning and support with real-time insights on student performance.
“After successfully developing, testing and commissioning Jochi, we are currently planning to expand our platform with a preliminary focus on Dubai, the UAE and the Gulf,” said Rahul.
Having lived most of his life in Dubai, Rahul wants his tech solution to help educators, students, and educational institutions to revolutionise their programming with data-driven confidence. “Dubai, where I grew up and studied, is the most advanced education market in the Middle East and it is also one of the most dynamic education sectors that is evolving through innovation and technology.
“The UAE Government has deployed significant resources in education, technology and innovation that are going to improve learning - directly transforming the country into a major education, technology and innovation hub. That’s why we would like our business to grow internationally from Dubai, the UAE to the rest of the Middle East.”
Their next step is to use AI to help deliver personalised support for each student, Rahul added.
