Anchor’s co-founders launch Oboe, an AI-driven app for education after selling to Spotify
The co-founders who previously sold their venture, Anchor, to Spotify are embarking on a new project named Oboe. This innovative educational application harnesses artificial intelligence to allow users to design lightweight and adaptable learning courses on virtually any topic simply by inputting a prompt.
Oboe enables a diverse range of courses covering subjects such as science, history, foreign languages, current events, pop culture, and preparation for life transitions, among others. At its launch, the app will feature nine distinct course formats, catering to various learning preferences, as explained by co-founder Nir Zicherman.
The company was established by Zicherman and Michael Mignano after their departure from Spotify in October 2023, following a brief hiatus. Zicherman’s motivation for creating an AI-focused educational tool stemmed from his experience in scaling Spotify’s audiobooks, which enhanced access to quality educational material bundled with music subscriptions.
Unlike traditional AI chatbots that require interactive dialogue, Oboe allows users to engage through text and visuals, audio courses, games, and interactive quizzes. For those who prefer to learn on the move, Oboe provides two audio formats: one mimics a university lecture, while the other resembles a podcast format, featuring two hosts discussing the material in depth.
According to Zicherman, the unique aspect of Oboe lies in its internally developed architecture, described as a sophisticated multi-agent system that runs processes in parallel to generate courses efficiently. “Our challenge is to create courses that are high-quality, personalized to user preferences, and produced quickly,” he remarked.
Part of this system includes agents responsible for creating course frameworks, validating teaching materials, writing podcast scripts, and sourcing real images from the internet to enhance the user experience—all while ensuring the information remains accurate and tailored to individual learning goals.
Oboe aims to deliver engaging, enjoyable, and concise courses, with a forthcoming recommendation engine designed to facilitate deeper exploration of topics based on user interest, allowing for both surface-level understanding and in-depth study.
The variety in course formats is intended to attract a wider audience. “Education is often tied to formal academic environments and rigid curriculums,” Zicherman noted. “However, lifelong learning is a constant for everyone. The internet often distracts more than it educates effectively, and we aim to create a platform that fulfills the innate desire for knowledge found in all individuals.”
At launch, users can access any user-created course for free and develop up to five personal courses each month. After that, there are two subscription plans: Oboe Plus, which permits the creation of 30 courses for $15 monthly, and Oboe Pro, offering 100 courses for $40 per month.
Currently, Oboe will be available via web and mobile web, with plans for dedicated iOS and Android applications in development.
The founding team comprises five full-time members, including Zicherman, with Mignano serving as a board member while maintaining his role at VC firm Lightspeed. The startup recently completed a $4 million seed funding round, led by Eniac Ventures, which also backed Anchor’s initial funding. Other contributors include Haystack, Factorial Capital, Homebrew, Offline Ventures, and several prominent investors.