AI, companions & EdTech: A VC's perspective

About this episode

Svenia Busson interviews Rhys Spence about the impact of AI companions on education and the role of behavioral science in learning.

What separates an AI companion from an AI agent? And when does a "sticky" learning app actually make you smarter? In this episode, Svenia Busson sits down with Rhys Spence , Head of Research & Platform at Brighteye Ventures — one of Europe's leading EdTech and future-of-work VC funds, with over €220 million under management. Rhys shares the key insights from Brighteye's report Me, Myself and My AI: The Rise of AI Companions , exploring how AI companions are reshaping education, health, and finance — and why vertical, regulated tools are safer and more defensible than general-purpose AI. They also dig into the role of behavioral science in making people genuinely want to learn, the tension between product stickiness and real learning outcomes, the rise of VR and smart glasses in vocational training (cutting qualification times by up to 99%), and Rhys's "Fix the Pothole" thesis: why AI should rebuild broken systems from the ground up, not layer efficiency gains on top of them. Rhys also shares what Brighteye Ventures is actively looking for from early-stage EdTech founders today — and what it means to invest for impact without being an impact fund. To go further: Me, Myself…

People in this episode

Host: Svenia Busson

Guest: Rhys Spence

Topics covered

• AI companions
• EdTech
• behavioral science
• vocational training
• impact investing

Keywords

• AI
• EdTech
• learning outcomes
• VR
• smart glasses
• impact investing
• behavioral science

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Brighteye Ventures

Books & works: Me, Myself and My AI: The Rise of AI Companions

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