Company News
Classwise wins $30,000 at the Siakam EdTech Engine
We are honored to have taken first place at the 2026 Siakam EdTech Engine Demo Day and received a $30,000 grant to help Classwise reach more teachers, schools, and students.
A Win For Teachers And Students
Classwise won the $30,000 first-place grant at the 2026 Siakam EdTech Engine Demo Day. Training Ground.ai received $15,000 and CoLab Education received $5,000, completing the program’s $50,000 grant pool.[1][3]
This recognition matters because the problem behind Classwise is deeply human. Teachers are carrying unsustainable workloads, while students often wait too long for feedback they need to improve. We are building Classwise to give teachers meaningful time back and help students learn while their work is still fresh.
What The Siakam EdTech Engine Is
Co-founded by NBA Champion Pascal Siakam and his PS43 Foundation and powered by DMZ at Toronto Metropolitan University, the Siakam EdTech Engine is a 12-week accelerator for startups improving K-12 education and youth learning.[2]
The program is built around practical adoption. Founders work with educators, school boards, students, mentors, and industry leaders to test their ideas in the environments where teaching and learning actually happen.[2]
What Classwise Is Building
Classwise is an AI-powered assessment and learning platform. Teachers can evaluate student work using their own rubrics or answer keys, provide meaningful feedback, identify learning gaps, review academic integrity, and give students guided support after an assessment.
Our goal is not to replace teacher judgment. It is to remove repetitive work, help teachers act on classroom evidence sooner, and make useful feedback available to students faster.
What The $30,000 Makes Possible
The grant gives us more resources to strengthen the platform, continue learning directly from educators, and bring Classwise to more schools. Every improvement should move us toward the same outcome: less teacher burnout and better support for every student.[1]
It also reinforces something we have heard throughout the program: education technology earns trust through real classroom value. That means building responsibly, preserving teacher control, protecting student data, and making implementation practical for schools.
Thank You
We are grateful to Pascal Siakam, the PS43 Foundation, DMZ, Google for Startups, Deloitte, TD Innovation Partners, the City of Toronto, the program mentors and judges, and the educators who gave us candid feedback throughout the accelerator.[1]
We are also thankful for the other founders in the cohort. Building in education is difficult, and learning alongside teams committed to improving how young people learn made the experience especially meaningful.
First place is an honor. The real measure of this work will be the teachers who get their evenings back and the students who receive the support they need sooner. That is what we are returning to work on.
Stories Behind This Post
Explore how Classwise turns student work into feedback and actionable classroom insights.
Read how teachers and school leaders are using Classwise in real classrooms.
Read DMZ’s announcement of the 2026 Siakam EdTech Engine grant recipients.
Sources
3 References
Sources
3 References
- [1] Pascal Siakam’s PS43 and DMZ celebrate second Siakam EdTech Engine cohort
DMZ at Toronto Metropolitan University. DMZ’s official July 22, 2026 announcement names Classwise as the $30,000 top-prize recipient. The article’s cover image is courtesy of DMZ.
- [2] Siakam EdTech Engine
DMZ at Toronto Metropolitan University. The official accelerator page describes the 12-week program, its focus on real-world testing with educators and school partners, and the $50,000 Demo Day prize pool.
- [3] Pascal Siakam’s edtech accelerator awards three startups with $50,000
BetaKit. Independent coverage reporting that Classwise won the top prize, followed by Training Ground.ai and CoLab Education.
Derah Onuorah
Founder, Classwise AI
July 22, 2026 • 3 min read