Strive Math
YC S21Entrepreneur First '21Singapore, SG · Founded 2020 · 13 employees · Hiring · 3 known investors
Strive Math teaches coding and mathematics to children aged 8-16 through interactive courses and 1-1 classes, with a focus on developing problem-solving and critical thinking skills. The company also provides digital tools to support teachers in delivering engaging STEM learning experiences.
Also known as Strive · Strive Education · Strive Math
Founders & leadership· Y Combinator alumni (S21)
Strive Math was founded in 2020 by Pulkit Agarwal and Tamir Shklaz.
Investors · 3
Also in the syndicate · 1
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Strive Math is a Singapore-based coding and math education provider teaching children aged 8 to 16. Its core product is live, 1-on-1 online classes in coding, with additional offerings in mathematics, AI coding, holiday bootcamps and in-person coding CCAs at international schools in Singapore. The coding curriculum is structured into four levels — Headstart (block-based coding, ages 7-10), Foundations (ages 10+), Fluency (independent coding) and Mastery (described as first-year university level) — and covers Python and JavaScript along with data analysis, AI/machine learning and blockchain topics.
The company originally taught mathematics through code, having students learn math concepts by building games and visual simulations (for example, coding Pong to explore algebra and geometry), and later added coding as a standalone course after parent demand. Its separate math offering provides 1-on-1 tutoring for grades 4 to 9 on a purpose-built platform featuring a shared adaptable worksheet with annotation, step-by-step working capture for misconception tracking, curriculum-aligned content, AI-assisted worksheet adaptation, homework, and a report card covering academic mastery and cognitive development indicators such as memory, focus, grit and self-sufficiency.
Strive also positions itself as a builder of teacher-facing tools. Following the wind-down of trinket.io, the company began hosting the open-source Trinket platform free of charge at trinket.strivemath.org.
Founding story
Founded in 2020 by Pulkit Agarwal and Tamir Shklaz, who met at the Entrepreneur First accelerator with a shared mission to make children's education more joyful and meaningful rather than a specific product idea. After interviewing parents, they concluded that existing children's coding options were limited, dry and outdated, and began teaching in Singapore, initially in person. Agarwal is described as a Stanford MBA graduate, three-time founder and former operator of an SAT tutoring business; Shklaz is described as a three-time founder and engineer, and is referred to in one source as co-founder and CEO.
Business model
Direct-to-consumer paid tutoring sold to parents on recurring monthly subscription plans, with free trial classes used as the entry point and a full refund offered if a family does not continue after the first class. The company also runs in-person coding CCAs at international schools in Singapore and holiday bootcamps.
Subscription and per-class fees. The coding site lists tiers of USD 60 for a single trial class, USD 240/month for 4 classes (USD 60/class), USD 440/month for 8 classes (USD 55/class) and USD 600/month for 12 classes (USD 50/class), with no lock-in; the homepage lists $65 per 1-hour class. Math plans are priced at SGD 320/month for 4 hours and SGD 640/month for 8 hours, both at SGD 80/hour with monthly auto-renewal and cancellation at any time.
Traction
As of the 2023 seed announcement, Strive reported having taught more than 1,000 students and trained and employed more than 60 teachers, with 13 employees. The website cites more than 700 parents served. Testimonials come from parents including executives at Mastercard Asia, Amasia VC and the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and student outcomes highlighted include coding portfolios used in a Direct School Admissions offer and student-built apps and games.
Latest developments
Recent blog activity through 2026 describes a stated 2026 focus on human connection, joy in learning and teaching tools amid AI's impact on education; the launch of a Strive AI Competition for families; math bootcamps with two tracks; in-person coding CCAs at Singapore international schools; the use of vibe coding as a supervised teaching tool; and the takeover of hosting for the open-source Trinket platform at trinket.strivemath.org after trinket.io wound down. The homepage advertises a partnership with KrisFlyer for new students.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
A small, venture-backed regional player in the kids' coding and math tutoring market, competing with other online coding schools for children. The company has named Byju's (described as a $10 billion company) and Juni Learning (Series A funded) among competitors, and positions its 1-on-1 model against group tutoring priced at SGD 100-150/hr for comparable individual instruction.
Stated differentiators are 1-on-1 personalised classes with student-chosen projects, selective teacher hiring (reported acceptance of under 1% of applicants) emphasising empathy and engagement alongside technical ability, an active 'learn by doing' pedagogy with instant feedback, teaching math through code, and per-session mastery reporting rather than term grades. The company also cites productive failure as a designed element of its classes.
Technology
Proprietary online teaching platform built for math instruction, with a shared adaptable worksheet that both teacher and student can annotate and edit, interactive visual examples, on-screen student working so teachers can see each step, AI-assisted worksheet adaptation, and automatically updated mastery report cards. Post-seed product plans included a specialised coding editor (IDE), new coding content, novel assessment of coding mastery and teacher training. The company also hosts the open-source Trinket coding platform and publishes internal AI tooling work such as generating formatted PDF worksheets.
Go-to-market
Free 1-hour trial class booked via web form and WhatsApp intake of a child's past work, followed by a teacher assessment and personalised lesson plan. Marketing leans on parent and student testimonials, student project showcases and an education blog. The company advertises a partnership with KrisFlyer offering benefits for new students, and runs in-person coding CCAs at Singapore international schools as an additional acquisition channel.
Parents of children roughly aged 8-16 (math tutoring targeted at grades 4-9), including families at international schools in Singapore such as UWCSEA, Singapore American School and Dover Court; the company has cited a target market of 3.7 million international school students across Asia and the Middle East. Classes are online and available to students outside Singapore. Segments served include advanced students seeking olympiad and competition preparation and students who have lost confidence in math, as well as neurodiverse learners.
Geography
Headquartered in Singapore with a Singapore phone contact; classes are delivered fully online and available to students anywhere, with in-person coding CCAs run at Singapore international schools. Team members are listed with locations/nationalities spanning Singapore, Portugal, Egypt, the Philippines, South Africa, India and the Netherlands. The stated market focus is international school students across Asia and the Middle East.
History
Strive began teaching students in December 2020, initially delivering math through code. The founders were selected for Y Combinator's accelerator, after which they closed a $1.3 million seed round announced in February 2023, bringing total reported investment to $1.4 million. The company subsequently shifted to offering coding as a standalone course in response to parent demand, and expanded into AI coding courses, holiday bootcamps, math bootcamps with performance and confidence tracks (announced November 2025), in-person school CCAs in Singapore, and free hosting of the open-source Trinket platform (May 2026).
Risks & controversies
No controversies are reported in the available sources. Performance claims warrant scrutiny: the math page attributes a 41% grade improvement over 12 months to its approach while the supporting figures cited are from the UC Davis C-STEM program rather than Strive's own students. Other figures — student counts, teacher counts and headcount — are self-reported by the company. Sources also differ on the founder/CEO framing between Pulkit Agarwal and Tamir Shklaz.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Competitors · 1
by search overlapCompanies competing with Strive Math for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.
Timeline · 7
launches, deals, and filingsAfter trinket.io wound down, Strive took over hosting the open-source Trinket coding platform free of charge for classrooms.
Blog post describes the creation of the Strive AI Competition in response to parent demand for up-to-date AI learning.
Strive's website states it is partnering with KrisFlyer to offer benefits for new students, pointing to singaporeair.com.
Strive introduced Math Bootcamps with a Math Performance track for students seeking challenge and a Math Confidence track for students who have disengaged from math.
Strive announced a $1.3 million seed round following participation in Y Combinator, with investors including Goodwater Capital and angels described as the President of MasterCard Asia and the Founder of Sequoia India. CTech reports Soma Capital among investors and total investment to date of $1.4 million.
$1.3M source ↗
Strive's about page states founder Pulkit Agarwal was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list.
The company states it started operating in December 2020, teaching coding to kids aged 8-16.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Strive Mathstrivemath.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Strive Math do?
- Singapore-based online school offering 1-on-1 coding, math and AI classes to children aged 8-16.
- Who founded Strive Math?
- Strive Math was founded by Pulkit Agarwal, Tamir Shklaz in 2020.
- Who are Strive Math's investors?
- Strive Math's investors include Y Combinator, Entrepreneur First.
- Where is Strive Math headquartered?
- Strive Math is headquartered in Singapore, SG.