Packback

Packback, a Chicago-based education technology company, provides an instructional AI platform for higher education and K-12 institutions. The firm was established in 2012 by a group of four students from Illinois State University: Mike Shannon, Kasey Gandham, Nick Currier, and Jessica Tenuta. Their journey began after they met and collaborated on building a co-ed business fraternity, which gave them their initial taste of entrepreneurship. Initially, the company operated as a textbook rental platform, Packback Books, designed to make educational materials more affordable by offering daily rentals.

A significant milestone occurred in 2014 when co-founders Mike Shannon and Kasey Gandham appeared on the television show "Shark Tank." They successfully secured a $250,000 investment from Mark Cuban, which validated their vision and provided crucial early-stage funding. This event marked a turning point, leading to a strategic pivot in 2015-2016 from textbook rentals to developing an AI-powered social learning platform. This shift was driven by the realization that improving learning outcomes, such as critical thinking and curiosity, was more impactful than just providing affordable course materials. The company has since raised a total of $13.6 million over multiple funding rounds, with notable investors including PSG and Achieve Partners.

Packback's business model is centered on selling access to its AI platforms to students on a per-course basis, similar to a course material fee. While the platform is free for instructors to adopt, students pay to join their class community for the semester. The company serves over 600 higher education and K-12 institutions. Its core products are Packback Questions and Packback Deep Dives. Packback Questions is an inquiry-driven online discussion platform where an AI-powered "Digital TA" provides real-time feedback to students as they write, coaching them to formulate more open-ended and thoughtful questions and responses. This system moderates discussions for quality and helps instructors scale Socratic-style teaching methods, especially in large classes. Packback Deep Dives is a long-form writing and research tutor. It offers students instant, rubric-based feedback on mechanics, structure, and research quality before submission. For instructors, Deep Dives features an AI grading assistant that suggests scores for mechanical aspects of writing, allowing educators to concentrate on the substance and ideas within student work. The platform also includes tools for detecting plagiarism and AI-generated content, focusing on teaching proper citation rather than simply penalizing.

Keywords: instructional AI, education technology, EdTech, online discussion platform, AI writing tutor, critical thinking skills, student engagement, Socratic method, pedagogy, Mark Cuban, Shark Tank, Packback Questions, Packback Deep Dives, AI grading assistant, writing feedback, research skills, higher education, e-learning, academic integrity, inquiry-based learning, digital teaching assistant, formative feedback