Luca is an AI SaaS EdTech platform aimed at delivering high-quality, affordable academic content tailored for a wide range of private schools across Mexico.
By focusing on core subjects like reading comprehension, math, and English language learning, and leveraging AI both for content creation and front-end tools, Luca bridges the gap between educational needs and resources in schools across Mexico.
Our goal is to impact one million students within the next five years. But it’s not just about numbers—it’s about ensuring that every student we reach has access to better educational outcomes. - Frederico Bello, Founder of Luca
The platform incorporates AI to benefit both students and teachers. Through AI, Luca offers personalized learning for each student and helps teachers save time on day-to-day tasks, such as correcting and grading essays and exams or generating projects.
The Story Behind Luca’s Success
Luca was born out of Federico Bello's vision to address the educational inequalities faced by schools in Mexico. Initially, the platform was designed as a direct-to-consumer (B2C) solution, targeting parents who wanted to invest in supplemental education for their children.
However, this approach quickly hit a roadblock due to cultural and economic differences in the Mexican market compared to similar markets like India.
“Initially, we believed parents would invest directly in their children’s education, as seen with platforms like Byju's in India. But we soon discovered that affordability and trust in external education solutions were significant barriers for many families.” - Frederico Bello
Realizing this, Luca pivoted to a business-to-business (B2B) model, focusing on schools as the primary customers. This allowed the company to address systemic educational challenges directly, tailoring its offerings to the needs of administrators and teachers.
The pivot was transformative. When we started working directly with schools, we found not just customers, but collaborators. Their feedback shaped Luca into what it is today. - Frederico Bello
The development process followed a highly iterative approach. Bello actively engaged in weekly feedback sessions with school administrators and educators, collecting detailed insights into critical challenges such as enhancing student reading comprehension through data-driven methods or designing interactive, adaptive math exercises using digital tools and the Singapore method. These discussions provided actionable data points that directly informed our transition toward a deeper understanding of institutional pain points, particularly in optimizing curriculum delivery and addressing gaps in educational outcomes.
How is Luca Transforming Elementary Education?
Luca is a cutting-edge AI EdTech platform providing a complete solution for elementary schools in Mexico and working as a direct substitute to traditional book publishers in Latam, the 3rd largest market by student count globally, with over 30 million students in Mexico alone, and +100 million in Latam excluding Brazil. It combines affordability, innovation, and international teaching methodologies to deliver high-quality education. Key offerings include:
- Comprehensive Resources: 10,000 content pages, 2,000+ video lessons, and 1,700 lesson scripts, all aligned with SEP, NEM ( Mexican Education Reform), and 2017 standards for Math, Science, Spanish, Reading Comprehension, Grammar and English for Primary and Secondary school levels
- Interactive Platform: AI tools for project creation, essay grading, and chatbot support.
- Gamified Learning: Engages students with points, levels, and interactive exercises.
Luca’s GTM Approach
Luca’s growth stems from a multifaceted strategy that combines outbound efforts, events, and leveraging key relationships. Personalized outbound calls laid the foundation for understanding schools’ unique challenges, while events provided opportunities to connect directly with educators and decision-makers. Referrals, a cornerstone of Luca’s approach, flourished as satisfied clients naturally advocated for the platform within their networks.
“Outbound calls helped us build trust early on, but our growth accelerated as we combined direct engagement at events, strategic partnerships with local influencers, and the power of referrals. It’s all about creating sustainable, meaningful connections,” notes Frederico Bello, founder of Luca.
A key driver of this success has been Luca’s focus on providing an excellent customer experience. In an education sector, much like many others before it, where support is often rare and complex to access, customer satisfaction (CSAT) tends to be low, and Net Promoter Scores (NPS) are historically weak, Luca is changing the game. By automating support with AI, Luca now offers 24/7 assistance, providing immediate and accessible help to schools and educators. This has been paired with transparent, fair contracts, ensuring that customers feel valued and supported.
Much like how industries such as banking, with the advent of online banking and fintech, or travel, with platforms like Airbnb, have been disrupted by providing easier access, better service, and more control to customers, Luca is bringing the same transformation to education.
As with banking or travel, we believe that real change in education will come from outsiders, like me and the Luca team, who aren't bound by the traditional ways of doing things. We're here to innovate, challenge the status quo, and create a better, more accessible experience for everyone involved. - Frederico Bello
