Headway Inc, a global company with Ukrainian roots developing an ecosystem of EdTech products, recently raised investment from the international fund Bullhound Capital.
In a conversation with AIN, the company’s CEO Anton Pavlovskyi explained how they managed to earn the investor’s trust during the war, where the funds will be directed, which new products and markets they plan to pursue, and — why the company is preparing for an IPO and actively integrating generative AI into its services. Below we publish Anton’s answers in a rapid-fire format.
How did Headway manage to attract investment from Bullhound Capital?
The investment from Bullhound Capital is more than financing. It’s a strategic partnership with one of the most influential international funds, which is behind success stories like Spotify, Klarna, Unity.
This is a powerful international investor that entered Ukraine even during the full-scale invasion. For us this is a very indicative signal of trust, since part of our team is in Ukraine, although our main market from the very start has been and remains the US market.
Bullhound Capital invests in companies capable of radically changing markets, and our thesis — to make education accessible and effective through technology — fully aligns with their approach.
Today the fund’s portfolio includes many investments in generative artificial intelligence, quantum systems and other breakthrough areas. We are changing education to meet the needs of the modern person: making it convenient for smartphones, adding gamification, integrating personalization. And it was precisely this combination of technological strength with a mission that has global impact that interested them and led to a partnership with us.
How will you use the investment?
Our main focus is the development and scaling of existing products and the creation of new ones. With the support of Bullhound Capital and the joining of Pera Romana, founder and managing partner of Bullhound Capital, to our board of directors, we are targeting expansion of global presence, strengthening technological infrastructure and broadening our product portfolio.
We clearly understand how to make existing services even better, and we have a large team working on new features, including those based on generative AI. This concerns both customer-facing dfdfd fdfdfdfdfdfdfd fdfdfdfdfdf cvv vcvcvfdf df ddf solutions that directly interact with customers solutions and internal processes that speed up development and improve product quality.
At the same time we are investing in creating products for different learning formats, since not all users want or are used to gaining knowledge from books — and that is absolutely fine. The investment allows us to enter new markets more actively and to scale proven models. We also plan to continue investing in people and to grow the team.
How did membership in Endeavor affect the company?
As a reminder, Headway joined the global network of entrepreneurs Endeavor, becoming the first company with Ukrainian roots in this community.
Endeavor is not just a prestigious recognition, but access to a world-class community with enormous experience. I learned about it a month after Headway’s start and immediately thought: it would be great if such a community existed in Ukraine. And we became part of it during the full-scale invasion. This opened direct contact with founders who have gone through the toughest stages of business — from negotiating with global investors to going public.
There is a pay-it-forward culture here: those who have already gone through a certain path share their experience and help others accelerate. Thanks to Endeavor we receive advice from people who know how to avoid common mistakes, we see different approaches to solving complex problems and draw inspiration. Already now we feel the real effect of this network — from ideas to concrete insights that influence our business decisions.
What are the plans for further use of generative AI?
For Headway this issue is especially relevant, since the company has long been actively implementing artificial intelligence technologies into its products and processes, and a significant part of the solution portfolio is based on gamification and personalized learning, where Gen AI plays a key role.
Generative AI is the key to hyper-personalization of our products and to creating new usage scenarios that were previously practically impossible. We have a separate team focused solely on AI, but in reality every product team integrates it into their processes one way or another. This includes developing AI-native products and introducing new features into existing services.
AI is used at all levels: from tools for personal productivity to comprehensive optimization of team workflows. For example, in the content team it has tripled the speed of content creation, and we see potential to grow this metric many times over. For us it’s not just a technological trend but one of the fundamental elements of the company’s development strategy.
Read also: Artificial intelligence is already taking over Hollywood. How and where film producers use Gen AI
Why did you change the company name to Headway Inc and how did the process go?
For a long time both the company and our flagship product had the same name — Headway. This sometimes created confusion, especially given that the identity was shared as well. We decided to clearly separate these concepts, developed a new identity, updated the website and formed a renewed brand vision. For us this was not simply a rebrand but a rethinking of who we are and what role we play in the global lifelong learning learning throughout life space. For us — it’s evolution and revolution. Evolution of the business — and a revolution in education.
Evolution. We have gone from a single app with short book lectures to an ecosystem of educational products, a global company that is among the top five EdTech companies in the world according to TIME magazine. The name change was a logical step that emphasized the scale of our activities and the multidirectional nature of our strategy.
At the same time it is a revolution in education. We are changing the approach to learning: knowledge is integrated into everyday life through summaries, games, interactive lessons and challenges. Our products combine gamification, AI and adaptive content, and Inc symbolizes the uniting of people and technology around the mission to help people grow. The logo with “HI” is both Headway Inc and the friendly English “Hi,” which embodies openness and ease in acquiring new knowledge.
Tell us about your products and their performance.
Our portfolio currently includes 5 products, each occupying its own niche.
- Headway — according to the company, this is the No. 1 app in the summaries niche, has more than 50 million downloads, App of the Day in over 30 countries.
- Impulse — No.1 in brain training, has more than 100 million downloads, top in Health & Fitness.
- Nibble — short interactive lessons in math, art etc., has over 4 million downloads.
- AddMile — a coaching platform for personal development where we combine human touch, emphasizing the development of so-called power skills, previously known as soft skills.
- Skillsta — interactive lessons based on life situations to improve social skills.
We have also created our own R&D lab that conducts user research, integrates feedback and works deeply with data. The combination of qualitative and quantitative analytics allows us to quickly test hypotheses, improve products and launch new solutions based on the real needs of millions of users.
Do you plan to go public (IPO)?
Yes, we consider an IPO as one of the key steps in our long-term strategy. It is not an end in itself but a tool to strengthen our position on the global market, access capital, reinforce the brand and build stronger partnerships. We are preparing comprehensively — from legal aspects and financial reporting to setting up internal processes that meet the requirements of a public company.
Tentatively we are looking at 2029 as a window of opportunity, although everything will depend on the market situation. Our task now is to be ready in all respects so that at the right moment we can take this step as effectively as possible without losing focus on business development.
What are the plans for raising capital for the IPO?
We are open to new partners and plan to attract strong international investors who share our vision of Revolutionizing Lifelong Learning, i.e. creating new approaches to how people learn throughout life in the modern world. It is important to us that these are funds capable of bringing not only financial resources but also added value in the form of expertise, network and strategic support.
Some rounds may start from $100 million per partner, but we do not aim to force this process. Right now the main focus is business development, launching and refining products, strengthening brands and expanding partnerships so that at the moment of going public the company is as strong as possible from all sides.
How did you manage to reach profitability during the war?
We have always been data-driven and made decisions based on analytics. Limited access to capital forced us to look for even more efficient working models. As I like to repeat, constraints often stimulate innovation, and in our case this became an impetus for deep optimization of processes without any harm to product quality.
We pay great attention to the team. Our annual retention rate is 93%, and many employees have been with us for 5–6 years. We implemented the Headway Recharge initiative — the possibility to take a month off after five years of work, we invest in internships and the development of young talent. This creates an environment where people can reveal their potential and contribute to the company’s development even in the most difficult conditions.
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