How are investors going to get ROI, from AI? We hear a lot about the investment in artificial intelligence. But the New York Angels are working hard to find investible companies where artificial intelligence will yield real profits. In this episode, we meet Eric Tao, the founder of Mega Minds and Josh Powe, a New York Angels member and angel investor in Mega Minds. They’re using AI to scale their experiential learning model and testing it in real-world K-12 settings. By blending the game-like appeal of platforms like Roblox with sophisticated AI characters, Mega Minds creates a "non-judgmental safe space" for students to practice academics through productive struggle. This approach lowers the "affective filter" that often inhibits struggling learners, allowing them to build confidence while failing and trying again in a low-stakes virtual world. For educators, the platform acts as a real-time force multiplier. While students engage with AI avatars, a separate backend agent translates performance into actionable insights, highlighting learning gaps in as little as 30 seconds. Eric shares compelling results from a recent study where 67% of participating students reached grade-level proficiency in just 10 weeks—nearly triple the rate of the control group. This feedback loop allows teachers to shift their focus from grading to the high-value, one-on-one instruction students need most. Josh Powe joins the conversation to explain why Mega Minds is a "killer app" for investors. Beyond early RFP wins, the platform is building a significant data moat by capturing granular, individualized learning data and sentiment analysis. As school districts demand scalable solutions that provide transparency while keeping teachers in the loop, Mega Minds is leading the shift toward a unified, data-driven instructional model that was previously impossible to achieve at scale. Learn more about the Mega Minds AI learning platform at gomegaminds.com and see who the New York Angels are partnering with at newyorkangels.com.

Catch up on the rest of the New York Angels series on theangelnest.com.