With backing from Capital One, this startup is working on an edtech platform for refugees

A $150,000 check from Capital One will let Philly-based Choosito continue to develop and deploy its edtech platform for refugee children as it makes it way through the XPRIZE IBM Watson competition.

Choosito, an alum of IC@3401, is one of the 30 finalists in the four-year global competition, which aims to find impactful use cases for artificial intelligence technologies to take on problems in education, environment, health, society and infrastructure.

“As a top contender for the final XPRIZE competition, we are delighted to have the support of Capital One.” said Eleni Miltsakaki, founder and CEO of Choosito and an adjunct professor of educational technology at the University of Pennsylvania. “Through their generous sponsorship, we are able to reach more underserved refugee children to improve their lives and livelihoods.”

We are proud to announce that today, Capital One has become a sponsor of Choosito’s IBM Watson AI XPRIZE team, aimed at addressing the problem of illiteracy among the 100 million… https://t.co/nR3EGjDJg8

— Choosito! (@choosito) April 2, 2019

Choosito’s XPRIZE project looks to leverage AI and machine learning to address illiteracy among underserved children, especially refugees. Its tech platform will allow children to visit an online library with custom resources available in their language.

“We are pleased to sponsor Choosito in the prestigious IBM Watson AI XPRIZE,” said Cat Posey, senior technology director, Center for Machine Learning at Capital One. “This four-year global competition challenges teams around the world to develop and demonstrate how humans can collaborate with powerful AI/ML technologies to tackle some of the world’s most pressing challenges.”

The Philly area has a good track record in the global competition: In 2017, a Paoli-based team won the Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE competition, and took home a $2.5 million prize.