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Hey — It’s Nico.
Welcome to another Failory edition. This issue takes 5 minutes to read.
If you only have one, here are the 5 most important things:
Edukoya, a Nigerian EdTech startup, is shutting down — learn why below.
OpenAI launches GPT-4.5, its largest model to date.
Sesame just dropped an AI voice so real, it feels like talking to an actual person — learn more below.
Let’s get into it.
This Week In Startups
🔗 Resources
A 6-step framework to grow sales as a founder.
PostHog’s 50 lessons about building successful products.
📰 News
OpenAI launches GPT-4.5, its largest model to date.
Figure will start testing its humanoid home robots in 2025.
A quarter of startups in YC’s current cohort have codebases that are entirely AI-generated.
Google Search’s new ‘AI Mode’ lets users ask complex, multi-part questions.
💸 Fundraising
Darwinbox, an HR startup from India, raises $140M.
Defense tech startup Epirus raises $250M.
Aescape raised $83M to make AI massage robots.
Fail(St)ory
Why African Edtech Struggles
A few years ago, Nigerian edtech startup Edukoya set out to revolutionize online learning in Africa. Now, it’s shutting down.
Despite raising $3.5 million in pre-seed funding—one of the largest in Africa at the time—the company struggled with challenges like internet connectivity, limited access to devices, and a difficult economic environment.
In the end, even with thousands of students using the platform, Edukoya couldn’t build a sustainable business model.
What Was Edukoya:
Edukoya aimed to transform K-12 learning in Africa by offering digital education content and live, on-demand tutoring. The platform allowed students to:
Join live classes led by expert tutors.
Get access to curated learning materials for school and entrance exam prep.
Ask questions and receive real-time assistance from teachers.
The idea stemmed from founder Honey Ogundeyi’s personal experience. Growing up in Nigeria, she saw firsthand the challenges of the education system—overcrowded classrooms, underfunded schools, and limited access to quality teachers. After studying in the UK, she wanted to bring better learning opportunities to students back home.
And for a while, Edukoya made an impact. The platform attracted over 80,000 students, hosted millions of answered questions, and ran thousands of live classes every day. But despite this traction, the company ultimately had to shut down.
The Numbers:
📅 Founded: 2021
💰 Funding: $3.5 million (largest pre-seed in African edtech)
👩🎓 Users: 80,000+ students
📖 Engagement: 15M+ questions answered, daily live classes
🏁 Shutdown: 2024, after nearly 3 years of operation
Reasons for Failure:
Market Readiness & Economic Barriers: Edukoya’s biggest challenge was not product-market fit, but whether the market could afford the product at all. Most Nigerian families prioritize essential education expenses over paid digital platforms, making widespread adoption difficult. Macroeconomic instability, high inflation, and the depreciation of the naira further reduced disposable income. Many students also lacked stable internet access or affordable devices, making online learning inaccessible. Even with strong demand for better education, the reality was that most families couldn’t pay for it.
Monetization & Profitability Struggles: Like many edtech startups, Edukoya faced the fundamental question: who pays? The majority of students attend public schools where parents already struggle to afford basic education. Freemium models often fail to convert free users into paying subscribers, and Edukoya was no exception. Traditional home tutoring and free YouTube educational content also offered viable, more accessible alternatives.
Infrastructure & Scaling Issues: Nigeria’s digital learning landscape is held back by infrastructure gaps that limit accessibility. High mobile data costs make consistent internet access a challenge, particularly for students from lower-income families. Frequent power outages further disrupt learning, making real-time engagement with online platforms unreliable. Many students also lack the necessary smartphones or tablets to fully participate in digital education.
Why It Matters:
Market readiness matters as much as product quality. Even a strong platform won’t succeed if customers can’t afford or access it.
African edtech faces deep-rooted challenges. Edukoya isn’t the only startup struggling—others, like Quizac, have also failed to scale.
Infrastructure can make or break digital businesses. High internet costs, power issues, and device limitations make scaling harder in emerging markets.
Trend
Sesame AI
While everyone’s been talking about the GPT-4.5 launch this week, there was another AI reveal that barely got any attention—but to me, it’s way more interesting.
Sesame, a brand-new AI startup, just unveiled its conversational AI assistant, and it’s on another level. Unlike Siri, Alexa, or GPT Advanced Voice, this AI doesn’t just respond—it talks. It pauses, laughs, emphasizes words, hesitates like it’s thinking, and adapts its tone based on the conversation.
It’s so real it’s unsettling. I’m serious. Try the demo. See if you don’t get just a little freaked out.
Sesame gives you two voices to choose from: Maya and Miles. Talk to them for just a few minutes, and you’ll start questioning everything you thought you knew about AI. It’s not just that the voices sound human—it’s that they feel human.
It reminds me of Her—that movie where Joaquin Phoenix falls for an AI assistant with a human voice. Except this isn’t science fiction anymore.
What exactly is Sesame?
Sesame is a startup that’s been in stealth mode until now, quietly developing this breakthrough voice AI. And they’ve got some heavy hitters behind them:
💰 Backed by Andreessen Horowitz.
🧠 Built by ex-Oculus and Meta Reality Labs engineers.
🎯 Mission: Bring computers to life.
But they’re not just making better voice assistants. Their real vision is to create an AI companion that lives in your ear, sees what you see, and helps you navigate your world in real-time.
That’s why Sesame isn’t stopping at voice—they want to build AI-powered glasses that bring this assistant to life. Imagine a sleek, lightweight wearable that whispers insights into your ear, recognizes objects around you, and helps you interact with the world effortlessly.
Why does it feel so human-like?
I think there are a few key reasons why Sesame’s AI avoids the uncanny valley and achieves something almost indistinguishable from a human voice:
Micro-pauses and hesitations: It doesn’t just fire back an instant response. It pauses for a fraction of a second, like it’s thinking, making the conversation feel natural instead of robotic.
Emphasis and intonation shifts: Unlike most AI voices that sound monotone and lifeless, Sesame’s assistant leans into words, softens its tone, speeds up when excited, and slows down when thoughtful—just like a real person would.
Expressive cues: Maya and Miles don’t just speak—they perform. They can laugh, sigh, and change their energy depending on the conversation, making interactions feel dynamic instead of scripted.
Adapting to your mood: This one really surprised me. The AI actually listens to your tone and adjusts its responses accordingly. If you sound frustrated, it responds in a calmer, more reassuring voice. If you’re excited, it picks up the energy and matches your enthusiasm.
But maybe the most striking difference? Maya and Miles actually have personality.
Unlike the usual boring, opinion-less AI models like GPT, Sesame has infused character into its assistants. Conversations don’t feel like an automated Q&A session where every answer is a careful, neutral essay weighing both sides. Instead, they respond in a way that feels human.
They have opinions (at least to a certain degree). They make casual remarks. They sound engaged.
This isn’t just a tool that answers your questions—it’s an AI that actually talks to you.
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That's all of this edition.
Cheers,
Nico
