ULA, a leading EdTech platform formerly known as Jo Academy, has raised $28 million in a Series B round led by Rua Ventures, with backing from JCIF (consortium of 16 Jordanian banks), and follow-on participation from Foursan (backed by IsDB and Olayan). The investment will fuel ULA’s expansion into Saudi Arabia and drive the development of advanced technologies including its pioneering generative AI capabilities to further personalize the learning experience.
Building on Jo Academy’s decades-long legacy in the region, ULA has reached over 2.1 million students in Jordan and, through a strategic partnership with the World Islamic Sciences and Education University (WISE), has served over 600,000 underserved students in Palestine. The company has delivered more than 200,000 hours of educational content and launched 13,000+ courses. The platform provides subscription-based courses for crucial exams like Tawjihi in Jordan and Tahseeli & Qudrat in Saudi Arabia, along with international programs such as IG and SAT, positioning it to meet the diverse needs of the MENA educational landscape.
AI Meets Education: The Future of Learning
ULA’s approach combines proven teaching methods with innovative digital tools to create an engaging and interactive learning environment. The platform adapts in real time to individual learning needs, monitors progress, and ensures that students remain engaged and motivated. It also incorporates gamified learning and virtual simulations to add an interactive layer to the educational experience. Beyond benefiting students, ULA extends its advantages to parents and educators: parents can actively track their children’s academic performance through real-time insights and engagement reports, while educators receive flexible content solutions and tools designed to enhance teaching effectiveness and classroom engagement.
Leading this AI-driven evolution is new CTO Sherif Halawa, a Stanford PhD with specialized expertise in online learning and artificial intelligence. ULA is advancing its generative AI capabilities as part of a broader strategy built on key AI pillars. The company leverages machine learning to predict student mastery and personalize learning paths, experiments with large language models to power its adaptive educational chatbot and employs natural language processing to enrich its automated content and recommendations. These combined efforts underpin the development of the AI Agent Tutor—a tool that utilizes a virtualized large language model trained on ULA’s proprietary content to adapt to individual student interactions, such as quizzes, tests, homework, and live class engagement, offering tailored support throughout the educational journey.
Scaling Up: Expansion Into Saudi & Across MENA
ULA will expand its support to schools, educational institutes, and government entities, reinforcing its goal to enable virtual schooling across the region. “We’re on a mission to build a competent and empowered Arab generation by leveraging AI and machine learning to craft personalized, engaging education experiences,” said Eng. Alaa Jarrar, Co-Founder & CEO of ULA. “ULA is not just an evolution of Jo Academy; it’s a leap forward in education technology.”
“Investing in ULA is a continuation of our strategy at Rua to back remarkable founders across the MENA region who are building innovative startups with significant positive impact, and to support their expansion into Saudi Arabia,” said Turki Aljoaib, Managing Partner of Rua Ventures. “We are confident that ULA’s data-driven approach to personalized education will deliver measurable benefits to students, parents, and schools across the region.”
“The company has established itself as a leader in the EdTech space in Jordan, known for providing tailored learning experiences and content creation that meet the diverse educational needs of students,” said Faris Sharaf, CEO of JCIF. “Jo Academy is poised for an exciting journey ahead as it continues to innovate and expand, reinforcing its role as a champion of EdTech in Jordan and the wider region.”
ULA’s latest funding round is a significant step in its mission to improve educational outcomes across the Middle East. By combining proven teaching methods with emerging digital innovations, ULA is poised to offer a balanced, personalized, and technology-enhanced learning experience that addresses the evolving needs of students, parents, and educators alike.
COMMENTS