Korean startup Pensieve has secured over 100 US universities as clients for its AI-powered grading platform, reducing grading time by up to 90%. Founded by CEO Yang Yun-seok and CTO Kim Min-jun in Silicon Valley, the company has processed 3 million submissions since launching in February last year. The platform is used by more than 1,000 professors and teaching assistants at elite institutions including Harvard, UC Berkeley, and Columbia. The AI analyses answer sheets and provides scores with detailed explanations of deductions based on grading rubrics. Pensieve raised approximately 10 billion won in seed funding this year, led by Mayfield, with participation from Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz scout funds, plus Base Ventures. The company plans to expand beyond grading into a comprehensive learning platform connecting university education with employment opportunities.

Pensive, a Silicon Valley-based AI education startup, has raised $6.87 million in seed funding led by Mayfield, with participation from Sequoia Capital Scout Fund, a16z Scout Fund, Base Ventures, and angel investors including Robinhood co-founder Vlad Tenev. The company operates an AI grading and tutoring platform for universities, reducing grading time by up to 10 times whilst providing personalised feedback. Since launching its closed beta in February 2025, Pensive has processed 3 million gradings and conducted over 300,000 AI tutoring sessions across more than 100 universities globally, including Harvard, UC Berkeley and Columbia. Founded by former Socraa AI employees, CEO Yoon Seok Yang and CTO Min Jun Kim, Pensive aims to automate repetitive grading tasks and transform university education for the AI era.