Ello
YC W20San Francisco, US · Founded 2020 · 45 employees · Hiring · 11 known investors
Ello builds an AI-powered 1:1 reading tutor for children, using custom low-latency AI models optimized for child-specific speech recognition and personalized teaching. The product delivers real-time reading instruction adapted to individual children's learning needs.
Also known as Trustle
Founders & leadership· Y Combinator alumni (W20)
Ello was founded in 2020 by Elizabeth Adams, Tom Sayer, and Catalin Voss.
EA
Elizabeth AdamsinFounderElizabeth Adams is a clinical psychologist with expertise in child development and behavior, bringing over 15 years of experience working with families in educational and clinical settings. She co-founded Ello, an AI-powered reading coaching platform for children.
TS
CV
Catalin Vossin𝕏FounderCatalin Voss is a machine learning founder who was a PhD candidate in AI at Stanford University focused on social good and digital health applications. He previously co-founded and exited two ML startups, DukaConnect and Sension.
Investors · 11
HomebrewBurlingame · $100K – $500K
Project A VenturesBerlin · $1.1M – $6.6M
Y CombinatorSan Francisco · $500K
Goodwater Capitalreported · 2 sourcesBurlingame · $5M – $50M
HSBCreportedLondon
Khosla VenturesreportedMenlo Park · $5K – $50M
Reach CapitalreportedSan Francisco · $100K – $12M
Visible Venturesreported · 2 sourcesHingham · $1M
WndrCoreportedRedwood City · $100K – $10M
Also in the syndicate · 2
Common Sense GrowthRavensburger
Funding
SEC filings, press & company announcements$15M disclosed across 1 round · 2023
- $15MSeries ASep 2023 · 4 sources
Goodwater Capital (lead), Project A (lead), Common Sense Growth, Homebrew, Khosla Ventures, Ravensburger, Reach Capital, Visible Ventures, WndrCo, Y Combinator
Source ↗
Source: company announcements and press reports — follow each round's link for the claim.
Founder mafia
3 people who came through Ello went on to found or lead other companies.
Competitors · 6
by search overlapTeachers Pay Teachers66 shared keywordsTeachers Pay Teachers is a marketplace where educators share and sell teaching resources and lesson plans. The platform serves teachers and educational institutions seeking classroom materials.
Epic63 shared keywordsEpic! is a digital library platform that provides access to books and reading materials for educational institutions and individual readers.
Goodreads59 shared keywordsGoodreads is a social platform for readers to track books, share reviews with friends, and get personalized book recommendations from a recommendation engine. It serves book readers looking to discover new titles and discuss reading.
Prodigygame57 shared keywordsProdigy offers adaptive, game-based learning platforms where children practice standards-aligned Math and English skills through gameplay. It provides tools for teachers and parents to support learning at school and home, with the product free for educators and optional paid parent memberships.
BEGiN56 shared keywordsBegin Learning offers learning apps and educational products for families and children, including HOMER (an adaptive learning platform) and Little Passports (an activity-based learning experience).
Speechify51 shared keywordsSpeechify is a text-to-speech application that converts written content—including textbooks, PDFs, emails, and web pages—into audio for users to listen to. The platform serves students and professionals with reading difficulties, particularly those with dyslexia and ADHD, enabling them to access educational and professional materials through audio.
Companies competing with Ello for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.
In the news
Frequently asked questions
- What does Ello do?
- Ello builds an AI-powered 1:1 reading tutor for children, using custom low-latency AI models optimized for child-specific speech recognition and personalized teaching. The product delivers real-time reading instruction adapted to individual children's learning needs.
- Who founded Ello?
- Ello was founded by Elizabeth Adams, Tom Sayer, Catalin Voss in 2020.
- Who are Ello's investors?
- Ello's investors include Homebrew, Project A Ventures, Y Combinator, Goodwater Capital, HSBC, Khosla Ventures, Reach Capital, Visible Ventures and 1 more.
- How much funding has Ello raised?
- Ello has disclosed $15M raised across 1 round.
- Where is Ello headquartered?
- Ello is headquartered in San Francisco, US.