GESAwards Nordic & Baltic Semifinal: results and winner announced
The Global EdTech Startup Awards (GESAwards) is the world’s largest EdTech competition and community, bringing together more than 6,000 startups from over 130 countries.
Founded in 2014, the initiative supports international collaboration and global visibility for education technology solutions. Regional winners progress to the global final in London, held during the Bett Uk.
The Nordics & Baltics Semifinal, run by xEdu, was held online on 12 December. Seven innovative companies pitched, and three judges selected the winner.
Semifinalists
📌 Kwizie: Instantly transforms training materials into interactive, skill-verified courses with embedded micro-credentials.
📌 Coly: Uses AI and psychometric data to help universities foster student wellbeing, belonging, and socio-emotional growth.
📌 Pladdra: An AI classroom platform combining secure chat, curriculum-aware assistants, and analytics to reduce teacher workload and boost engagement.
📌 EditAI: A digital teacher twin that generates curriculum-aligned, project-based lessons tailored to diverse student needs.
📌 Valvur: A gamified platform teaching digital safety and literacy through interactive quests and adaptive AI guidance.
📌 Lanterna: Provides world-class online IB teaching and tutoring through qualified teachers and top graduates.
📌 Mappi.ai: Creates personalised learning materials aligned with curriculum requirements, powered by AI assistance.
Judges
The startups were evaluated by an international jury composed of Doug Lynch, Senior Fellow at the USC Rossier School of Education, Sara Segundo, Event Director at SAMYRAD, and Fernando Valenzuela Migoya, CEO of Edlatam Alliance.
Projects were assessed based on the relevance of the problem addressed, the strength of the pedagogical approach, the quality of the user experience, product viability, and the potential for sustainable growth.
Each startup had 3 minutes to pitch and 2 minutes to answer the judges’ questions. After the pitching session, the judges held a discussion to decide the winner. It took longer than expected, as they noted that the level of all the companies was so high that choosing a finalist was extremely difficult.
Results
At the conclusion of the jury’s deliberation, Pladdra was selected as the winner of the Nordic & Baltic Semifinal and will advance to the GESAwards Global Final in London during Bett. Coly was selected as runner-up.
Congratulations to both and best of luck in London!
