When AI-driven impact innovation steps up: reinventing education in Europe

Part 1: Rethinking Learning Outcomes & Neurodiversity

Across Europe, the education landscape is experiencing subtle yet significant transformations. These changes often go unnoticed in mainstream discourse but are evident in the lived realities of students, educators, and institutions.

Rapid technological advancements are exposing the gaps between existing educational frameworks and the evolving, diverse needs of learners and teachers. Traditional systems, frequently slow to adapt, struggle to offer the inclusivity, personalisation, and high-quality learning experiences that modern education demands.

In this challenging context, impact-driven entrepreneurs within ed-tech are emerging as vital agents of change, stepping in to address critical gaps. These innovators are actively reimagining education by centering equity and learner-focused approaches in their solutions, supporting both learners and educators. Through the use of AI, they aim to create meaningful impact at scale, challenging entrenched norms and advocating for an education system that genuinely reflects contemporary needs.

At Social Tides, we have had the privilege of supporting many of these visionary entrepreneurs. Here’s how their expertise is shaping the future of the broader European education ecosystem.

Classroom Impact & Teaching Capacity

To make an impact, innovation seeks to explore the fundamental issues inside the school environment: classroom-level bottlenecks in access, pedagogy, and assessment must be addressed head‑on. 

GIOS, a Ukrainian AI-driven math learning platform for K12 education through interactive, TikTok-style learning and gamification, highlighted the power of gamified, AI-driven learning for K12 students, addressing challenges such as unequal digital access, outdated teaching methods, and attention difficulties. Their platform uses interactive tasks, adaptive AI tutors, and gamified lessons, showing strong impact: a 43% increase in academic performance and a 90% boost in engagement among over 160,000 users. Nataliia Limonova, GIOS’s founder and CEO, underlined: “Beyond Ukraine, we see a growing European trend: EdTech startups are merging AI, gamification, micro-learning, and neurodiversity support. The sector is shifting from basic 'content delivery' to personalised learning ecosystems”.

Teachers report improved focus, motivation, and easier tracking of student progress. GIOS is now active in 227 schools across Ukraine with Ministry support, illustrating how AI can amplify teachers’ capacity rather than replace them. They also collaborate with AI-native partners to scale efficiently across Europe.

Learning Outcomes & System-Level Change

A key question when rethinking the educational system to support modern learning needs is how stakeholders and collaborations can act as levers for systemic adoption, as well as how innovations might be designed in ways that will lead to lasting impact.

For Elicėjus, a Lithuanian-based platform that offers personalized AI-driven math courses for grades 5-12, to improve access, save for teachers, and close educational gaps, the most important insight on this question is clear: “The fastest way to change a system is to work from inside it. Our biggest leaps came from ministry and municipal partnerships, not one-off pilots”. Their data-driven platform has already reached tens of thousands of students in Lithuania, helping teachers move beyond gut feeling and test scores to uncover hidden learning gaps. “In the 2024-25 school year, Elicėjus delivered over 35,000 student licenses across Lithuania. In Kaunas (our largest citywide rollout), diagnostics revealed hidden gaps even among students considered on track”, Mantas Vičius, Elicejus’ co-founder & CEO, highlights.

Funders, they emphasise, need to understand that public-sector adoption takes patience, but it pays off: “Over 80% of our institutional pilots convert to paid contracts”. For them, AI is not about replacing teachers but about giving them “superpowers”, turning hunches into evidence and giving policymakers a clearer picture of where systems are failing.

Neurodiversity Awareness & Working By Each Student

A central consideration to reinventing education is how screening and personalised support can avoid labelling students and instead, support strengths-first approaches while ensuring clinical validity. 

This is the lens through which Develop-Players, an Italian AI-driven platform that offers screening and support to individuals with neurodiversity who remain undiagnosed due to accessibility issues, approach their work. They choose to use AI only where it truly adds value. “At times, we have decided not to use it or to step back after realising that its use in certain areas would create obstacles rather than advantages. For us, ethical considerations also drive clinical outcomes”. This careful approach ensures that when AI is applied, it truly enhances learning experiences and strengthens the positive impact for students. 

Their cognitive screening videogame, Proffilo, helps teachers better understand the diversity of their classrooms, uncovering strengths and challenges that often go unnoticed. One student in Italy, who had dropped out at 12 and faced immense personal struggles, embraced Proffilo because it allowed him to engage without fear of judgment. For the first time, he saw his difficulties as just one part of a broader profile, alongside abilities worth recognising. Luca Formica and Mariagrazia Benassi, co-founders of Develop-Players, underline: “the results were so rich and significant that more than 5000 students were involved and used our video games, and more than 2000 teachers changed their minds by observing their students”.

Develop-Players stress that schools must see themselves as active partners, not just end users: “They need to embrace experimentation, test new approaches, and sometimes accept failure as part of the process. Most importantly, they should remember that the goal is not to validate a product or a model, it is to put students and their families at the very centre of change”.

Closing Part 1

All approaches underline a critical point: AI in education is not about standardisation, but about the empowerment of all the different educational needs. Done right, it can help teachers see students more fully and help systems act with more precision. This process requires patience, ethics, and a commitment to putting people first.

In Part 2, we’ll explore how AI-enabled EdTech is enhancing education by preparing students for the future of work, building inclusive pathways, and sharing lessons from founders about creating long-term impact in learning environments.