Nectir Named to the 2026 GSV Cup 50

Los Angeles, CA (Jan 8, 2026) — Nectir has been selected for the prestigious 2026 GSV Cup 50 out of 3,000 record-breaking nominations. The GSV Cup, presented by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and GSV Ventures and supported by Pearson, is an annual celebration of the world's 50 most innovative digital learning and workforce skills startups—culminating each year at the ASU+GSV Summit, the preeminent global gathering for “PreK to Gray” education and skills leaders.

The GSV Cup 50 elevates early-stage companies that are poised to make an outsized impact on the global education and skills landscape. The top 50 startups were selected based on GSV’s “Five P’s” framework: People, Product, Potential, Predictability, and Purpose.

“Being recognized by the GSV Cup is a powerful validation of our core belief: that the role of AI in education must be responsible, scalable, and secure by design,” says Kavitta Ghai, Nectir CEO and Co-Founder. “We are proud to be empowering institutions with AI infrastructure that enhances learning outcomes and supports educators, and grateful to our partners who have joined us on this mission."

“The GSV Cup 50 is designed to spotlight the brightest stars of tomorrow across the global EdTech community,” says Francis Rosenberg, VP at ASU+GSV Summit. “Not only is it an annual highlight of the Summit, but the Cup has become the premier launchpad for early-stage founders to scale their game-changing solutions.”

The 2026 GSV Cup 50 reflects the fusion of AI, education, and workforce development across a truly global cohort. The startups span five continents, with 60% built for global markets and headquartered across the United States, Iceland, Australia, Switzerland, India, Norway, and more. Across sectors, 37% of companies serve early childhood & K-12 education, 16% focus on higher education, 20% serve workforce and adult consumer learning, and 27% address multiple segments of the PreK to Gray continuum.

Two-thirds of companies are led by underrepresented founders, including 33% with women founders and 43% led by founders of color. Most (53%) of the cohort is actively raising capital, and among companies reporting revenue, ARR already ranges from pre-revenue to $10 million. Product-wise, the cohort is overwhelmingly AI-driven, with nearly 70% of companies building AI-powered or AI-native platforms across instruction, assessment, workforce pathways, and the infrastructure that connects learners, educators, and employers.

The GSV Cup 50 founders will take center stage on GSV Cup Demo Day, Tuesday, April 14, at the ASU+GSV Summit (April 12-15, 2026, in San Diego), presenting their companies to a global audience of leading investors, education leaders, and industry partners.

See Nectir and all of the companies selected for the GSV Cup 50 at https://www.asugsvsummit.com/gsv-cup.

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About Nectir

Founded by two students at UC Santa Barbara, Nectir is on a mission to reinvent how we teach and learn with AI. Its platform is already used by around 80,000 students across 100 leading schools and is backed by leading investors, including Long Journey Ventures, Entrada Ventures, Precursor Ventures, and Behind Genius Ventures. Nectir AI provides FERPA-compliant, LMS-integrated conversational AI infrastructure that empowers educators and students to build customizable AI Assistants. Learn more at www.nectir.io.

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About ASU+GSV Summit

The ASU+GSV Summit is the premier global convening for the entrepreneurs, investors, philanthropists, educators, workforce leaders, and policymakers transforming the $8 trillion education and skills sector and convening over 7,000 annually. The ASU+GSV Summit, launched in 2010 and now in its 17th year, is hosted by GSV Summit LLC and is the preeminent platform for connecting ideas, communities, and capital to unlock opportunity at scale. GSV Summit's mission—that ALL people deserve equal access to the future—is grounded in the belief that scaled innovations across PreK to Gray learning are critical to achieving this goal. Learn more at asugsvsummit.com.

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For Media Relations contact:

Josephine Cheng, josephine.cheng@nectir.io