Kinnu

Kinnu (Kinnu Ltd., kinnu.xyz) is a London-based education technology company that builds consumer learning products underpinned by an AI-driven 'learning engine'. The company frames its objective around a self-defined metric it calls Time To Mastery (TTM), which it aims to reduce toward zero using tools drawn from cognitive science, memory research and motivational/behavioural design. Its internal engine, named 'Maia', is described as predicting when a learner will forget material and adapting content to attention level.

The product line has two branches. Kinnu General Knowledge (also presented as the 'Kinnuverse') offers free bite-sized 'pathways' across categories such as culture, history, lifestyle, philosophy, psychology, science and technology, with topics including quantum mechanics, macroeconomics, Norse mythology, astronomy, dinosaurs and AI; lessons are short read-or-listen modules followed by multiple-choice questions, with spaced repetition delivered through a feature described as 'Memory Shield'. Kinnu Exam Prep is a paid-market-oriented set of dedicated products for the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (Kinnu Law, mobile in May 2025 and web in October 2025), the CFA (February 2026) and the SAT (July 2026), combining MCQ banks, flashcards, study notes, performance statistics and an exam-specific AI assistant.

Content production combines human and generative AI steps: human experts define a course outline or pathway, which is passed to large language models that identify core ideas and generate revision questions in formats such as multiple choice. The company positions itself against a framework of 'content, access, and learning product', arguing content is commoditised by AI and that the remaining frontier is the learning product itself.

Founding story

Kinnu was founded in July 2021 (press coverage says 2021) by Christopher Kahler, Abraham Muller (Müller) and Hanna Celina. Kahler and Muller had previously founded the real-time market research startup Qriously, backed by Accel and Spark, which was sold to Brandwatch in early 2019 for an undisclosed sum; during their post-acquisition sabbatical they returned to a shared interest in learning, and a former investor introduced them to Hanna Celina, who studied at Harvard, holds a PhD in human-computer interaction design focused on social online learning from Newcastle University, and previously worked at Google, Deliveroo and FutureLearn. Early work took place in Kahler's garage in Hackney, London. The company describes its conceptual origin as a scene in The Matrix in which Neo learns kung fu via direct upload [0][4][5][7].

Business model

Kinnu distributes mobile and web learning applications directly to individual learners. The general-knowledge app is described by a third-party review as free to download and use on iOS and Android, with users reporting no ads, subscriptions or paywalls as of July 2026, while the newer exam-prep products (SQE, CFA, SAT) target candidates preparing for specific professional and admissions examinations [2][0].

Sources do not state how Kinnu monetises; the general-knowledge app is described as free with no ads or subscriptions [2].

Traction

The company's website reports 1.2 million users, 3.2 million hours learned and 90 million question sessions. Kinnu: Superpower Learning (March 2022) surpassed 500,000 installs; Kinnu 2.0 (February 2024) surpassed 1.2 million installs. Kinnu Labs, launched September 2024, ran with over 10,000 participants and, per the company, showed Kinnu outperforming 1:1 in-person human tutors in high-school-level physics and history. For Kinnu Law mobile, the company states 20% of exam takers within eight weeks used it more than one hour per day, with 3,000 practice MCQs available [0].

Latest developments

Most recent milestones on the company timeline are the launch of Kinnu CFA Prep (February 2026), a platform for CFA Level I candidates, and Kinnu SAT Prep (July 2026), which added SAT coverage alongside an overhaul of the product's Study Notes. A third-party review published in July 2026 describes the general-knowledge app as still free on iOS and Android [0][2].