Amira Learning Personal AI Reading Tutor Receives 2021 EdTech Breakthrough Award for Best Language Learning Tool of the Year

Amira Learning, the first-of-its-kind voice AI-based reading tutor for students, has won the 2021 EdTech Breakthrough Award for Best Language Learning Tool of the Year. Amira’s second consecutive year winning an EdTech Breakthrough Award comes after a school year that saw students, parents and teachers across the U.S. operate in remote learning environments, creating an even larger need for innovative technology to help students succeed. 

Amira’s voice AI reading tutor technology helps to solve the staggering illiteracy rate in America as well as learning challenges brought on by COVID-19. Last year, data from the U.S. Department of Education found ~130 million adults aged 16-57 read below a sixth-grade level. Meanwhile, COVID has created the most significant U.S. learning gap ever. For reading specifically, students are a month and a half behind historical averages and according to PACE, this loss is expected to create a learning gap of approximately 12 percent of a year of typical growth. 

“America’s literacy gap continues to be a problem for millions of people across our country, and the need for support in improving reading proficiency has never been greater for both parents and educators,” said Mark Angel, CEO, and Co-Founder of Amira Learning. “We’re honored to receive recognition from EdTech Breakthrough again this year and continue to pursue our mission of helping improve lives through the magic of reading.”

Backed by Amazon and Google, the voice-AI reading tutor has been proven by esteemed Carnegie Mellon University to double the pace of reading growth for children ages 5 to 10. Amira uses AI to read words simultaneously from the screen while listening to a child’s pronunciation, correcting it based on a database of knowledge. The platform also provides real-time feedback for kids and parents by reporting on terms like correct words per minute, how many times and what the child has read, and how long they have read in a given week. 

Amira’s technology was developed with more than 20 years of research from both Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Texas Health Science Center to help close America’s staggering literacy gap through dynamic, personalized reading experiences for students. 

Through its partnership with learning technology company Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Amira is already used in over 300 school districts across the U.S. This March, Amira Learning launched its brand new at-home app, Read with Amira. Right now, parents can accelerate their child’s reading journey for only $7.99 per month by visiting www.readwithamira.com. 

If you are a district administrator and would like to introduce Amira Learning into your classroom, visit https://www.hmhco.com/programs/amira.

About Amira Learning

Founded by a team of former engineers and executives from Pearson, IBM, ACT, and Renaissance, Amira Learning is on a mission to help close the 32 million person literacy gap in America by creating personalized and engaging reading experiences for children.

Headquartered in San Francisco, the company has raised over $20M in venture capital with previous investments from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Google Assistant Fund, Amazon Alexa Fund, GSV AcceleraTE, Rethink Education, and Owl Ventures. To learn more about Amira, visit amiralearning.com.

Media Contact

Adam Benavides
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amira@vsc.co

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Adam Benavides

Media Relations

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adamb@vsc.co