Technology

Tech Startup AI Raises 1.4 Million Dollars to Develop Alternative to Popular Chatbot GPT

AifrontierJanuary 8, 2025February 6, 202506 mins

Toronto-Based EdTech Startup Aims to Create Inclusive and Personalized Learning Experience for Students

On Wednesday, Tech Spark AI announced a $1.4 million pre-seed round to develop its new generative AI platform called Spark Plug. The investment was led by TD Bank, with participation from Salesforce, Canada’s government, and NBA Canada.

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Founders’ Vision

Tech Spark AI is based in Toronto and was founded by Tamar Huggins eight years ago to create school curricula for Black and brown students across North America. This eventually led to the idea of creating a more personalized experience for students. Huggins created the product with her 13-year-old daughter, Talia Grant.

The Spark Plug platform seeks to be a Black-owned alternative to current AI search platforms, mainly ChatGPT. With its focus on inclusivity and personalization, Spark Plug has partnered with educational institutions in the U.S. and Canada, particularly those within underserved Black and brown communities.

Product Features

The product’s first iteration allows users to translate classic literature text into modern language, targeting Gen Z as its primary audience. Specifically, the text translation is from standard text to African American Vernacular English (AAVE), a dialect that originated in the Black American community and is now widely used by Gen Zers on the internet.

Spark Plug has also developed an assessment tool called LearningDNA to help educators understand how students learn best. For example, if a student learns best by listening, Spark Plug will present a concept with a hip-hop melody.

Founding Story

Huggins told TechCrunch that oftentimes, technology is designed without considering the lens of Blackness, leading to negative impacts on Black communities, especially when it comes to AI in general. She believes that identifying problems within their own communities using technology can create meaningful and safe solutions.

Spark Plug’s language model was trained by Huggins’ daughter, a member of Gen Z, as well as authors from the Harlem Renaissance and activists from the Civil Rights Movement. Despite its focus on students, the product is available for everyone to use as a web application, functioning similarly to ChatGPT.

Inclusive Generative AI

Huggins stated that historically, Black people haven’t always felt like they belonged, resulting in creating their own spaces. Technology is no different; she emphasized the importance of including the voices of those systematically left out of the conversation for AI to take us in the right direction.

Challenges and Funding

Fundraising was challenging for Huggins, who came up with the idea in 2019 and started developing the product while pregnant with her daughter. She faced numerous rejections before securing the $1.4 million pre-seed round.

Huggins credits TD Bank and other investors for believing in the platform’s mission to create inclusive and personalized learning experiences. With this funding, Spark Plug will continue to develop its AI technology and expand its partnerships with educational institutions.