Engaging and insightful panel discussion on "A Conversation about the Opportunities and Challenges of AI for Brazilian Education." This event explored the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in the education sector, specifically within the context of Brazil. As AI continues to evolve, it brings both promising opportunities and complex challenges that could reshape the educational landscape.
About Andre Nudelman
Andre Nudelman was appointed as Entrepreneur in Residence at Stanford University Graduate School of Education in September 2021. He has an extensive range of activities, including Private Equity with focus on Education, Entrepreneurship, Real Estate Investments, Agriculture, Art Collection, Non-profit organizations, and volunteer activities.
Among his past ventures, Maple Bear Schools Latin America, the largest franchised K-12 bilingual school chain in Latin America, sold in 2016. Presently, through Addquire Private Equity, he controls Digital Media Academy (digitalmediaacademy.org), a company that offers Tech Courses in person and online to students from 3-18 years old globally; International Comprehensive (icomprehensive.com), a school quality improvement system; International Canadian Academy (icanadianacademy.com), a K-12 bilingual school franchising chain; Teacherwit.com, a platform for teachers to learn and share; Interactive Health International (cyberpatient.ca), a simulation online system for medical education.
His philanthropic and volunteer activities include: Chairman of the Canadian Council for The Americas BC for ten years; Cabinet Campaign member for Emily Carr University of Art+Design; Advisory board member at McRae Institute for International Relations at Capilano University; Chairman of The Einstein legacy Project in BC at Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Ambassador of Vancouver Biennale; among others.
About Claudio Sassaki
Claudio Sassaki was the Co-Founder and CEO of Geekie, an edtech company in Brazil that pioneered ground-breaking, real time data-based learning systems. Sassaki has worked extensively with students, teachers, schools and districts to design and implement personalized learning strategies. He pioneered the use of technology and AI for personalized learning at massive scale in Brazil - more than twelve million students from 5,000 schools have been impacted by the solutions developed by him and his team. Geekie has been the most decorated edtech in Brazil, having won several national and international awards and presented by worldwide recognized media such as The Economist, The Guardian, BBC and CNN.
A graduate in Architecture and Urbanism from Universidade de São Paulo, he also received an MBA and Masters in Education from Stanford University. Sassaki spent almost ten years in investment banking, having reached the position of VP at Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse. He gave up his career in the financial sector to pursue his dream of transforming lives through education and thus started Geekie.
Sassaki has been recognized by Wired UK as one of the most important social innovators of the world (Wired UK Innovation Fellow), awarded by Schwab Foundation as Social Entrepreneur of the Year, and by EY as Entrepreneur of the Year Brazil. He is an Edmund Hillary Foundation Fellow, Endeavor Entrepreneur, WISE (World Innovation Summit for Education) Award Winner, Trip Transformador, and Folha de São Paulo Social Entrepreneur. His life and journey with Geekie have been portrayed in two documentaries, A New Capitalism (2017) and Going Forward (2017). Sassaki co-wrote a chapter for the book Visible Learning - Theoretical and Practical Experiences in the Classroom (2022).
About Laura Constantini
With over 20 years of experience in the tech venture capital industry, Laura Constantini is the co-founder of Astella Investimentos, a leading firm that invests in and supports entrepreneurs who build and grow scalable platforms in financial services, education, marketplaces, and cloud services in Brazil. She is also a Kauffman Fellow, part of a prestigious program for venture capital leaders.
Laura's core competencies include strategy, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, content production, and deal analysis. She creates new products and internal processes that leverage results and improve the overall experience for stakeholders. She oversees the content strategy and the investment process at Astella, ensuring quality, efficiency, and alignment with the firm's vision and values. Her mission is to empower entrepreneurs to achieve their full potential and to foster a culture of innovation and excellence in the Brazilian tech ecosystem. Additionally, Laura serves on the boards of Endeavor Brazil and LAVCA.
About Robson Amorin
Robson Amorin is the Founder and CEO of BeConfident, a multimodal AI platform designed to provide unlimited English conversation practice. Since its launch in May 2023, BeConfident has achieved significant milestones, including reaching 5,000 annual subscribers, facilitating over 20 million seconds of interaction with its AI tutor, and generating half a million dollars in annual recurring revenue (ARR) in just nine months. Based in São Paulo, Brazil, BeConfident is rapidly transforming the landscape of language learning through innovative AI technology.
In addition to his role at BeConfident, Robson has been a Tech Fellow at Fundação Estudar since August 2020. This esteemed fellowship, founded by renowned entrepreneurs Jorge Paulo Lemann, Marcel Telles, and Beto Sicupira, awards highly competitive scholarships to Brazilian students at top universities, aiming to accelerate Brazil's technological development. As one of the six distinguished fellows selected in 2020, Robson benefits from college scholarships, individual mentorship from prominent Brazilian business leaders, and extensive networking opportunities with other fellows.
Robson is also a member of the inaugural V0 cohort at Latitud, an investment program often compared to Y Combinator for Latin America. Founded by Brian Requarth, who achieved a $600M+ exit with Viva Real, and Gina Gotthilf, the former VP of Growth at Duolingo, Latitud is the leading community of founders in Latin America. Robson's involvement with Latitud further underscores his commitment to fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in the region.
