Make thinking visible
Pladdra starts from what the learner has already tried and works forward with questions, hints, explanations and feedback. The goal is understanding, not simply a finished answer.
About Pladdra
We build AI to make learners more independent, not more dependent.
Pladdra grew out of classrooms, research and one simple belief: if children are going to use AI, the technology should be built for learning.
Not to do the work for the learner, but to help them think, understand, try, and eventually do more on their own.
Made in Sweden by people with backgrounds in teaching, research, EdTech, AI and school leadership.
The fastest answer is not always the best support.
Pedagogy first. Technology second.
We do not think schools need an ordinary chatbot with a school logo on it. They need AI that respects how people learn, teachers' professional responsibility and children's right to privacy.
Keep people responsible
AI should strengthen teachers and help adults see where support is needed, not replace human judgement. Teachers and parents get relevant learning insights while the learner gets room to grow.
Build trust from the start
Data minimisation, European processing, learner safety and freedom from advertising are not add-ons. They are design requirements. Pladdra is also built to choose the AI model that fits the task, rather than locking a school to a single AI company.
The people behind Pladdra
Experience from classrooms, research and global EdTech.
Pladdra is shaped by people who have built teaching, research, technology companies and education products, and by the learners, teachers and families who use it.
Founder
Joakim Flink
Joakim combines experience as an educator with research and entrepreneurship. He has worked with AI and education since the early 2010s, founded a Swedish advanced technology programme focused on AI and IoT in 2018, and researches small language models and federated learning at Mälardalen University. In 2022 he was a finalist for AI Swede of the Year.
Senior Advisor
Stephen Jull
Stephen is an educator, researcher and international EdTech leader. He co-founded GeoGebra GmbH and served as COO as GeoGebra grew into one of the world's most widely used mathematics education platforms. He began his career teaching in northern Canada, earned a PhD from Cambridge and has spent more than 15 years building and scaling education technology. Most recently, he led AI and Educational Technology globally at Teach For All.
Senior Advisor
Christer Nordström
Christer brings together academia, research, industry and school leadership. He has been a professor at Mälardalen University and CEO of SICS, the research institute that later became part of RISE, with extensive experience across AI, big data, industry and startups. He has also served as chairman of the school group behind schools including Hitachigymnasiet and Vattenfallgymnasiet.
A small team with a big responsibility.
Around us is a strong team spanning pedagogy, AI, product development and software engineering. We build Pladdra with schools and families, close to the reality where the technology has to work. The goal is not for a learner to become good at using Pladdra. The goal is for them to become better at thinking, understanding and learning, even when Pladdra is not there.
Our direction
We want to build the AI we would want our own children to meet.
Curious enough to ask. Pedagogical enough not to take over. Safe enough for school. And good enough to help every learner take their next step.