Quddus Pativada, a resident of the UAE in his twenties, shares a common background with successful figures like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg, for being college dropouts. Despite being a college dropout, Pativada has already achieved the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in a company that developed an artificial intelligence-driven tutor called ASI. ASI offers instant feedback, personalized assistance, and adaptive learning to enhance homework support and test readiness for students following the national curriculum of the UAE.
During an interview with Khaleej Times at the 'UAE AI Tutor Hackathon', which marked the experimental launch of the AI tutor at COP 28. Quddus discussed his view, stating, "Rather than pursuing a university education, I opted to establish a company. After leaving university and taking a gap year, we successfully secured around $3 million in funding from investors in both the US and the UAE. This venture is now my full-time commitment, and my focus is on further developing the company". Quddus started the company with a group of friends while he was in Dubai, in the final month before graduating from high school.
"At the age of 17, as part of the 'Tik Tok' generation, we contemplated ways to simplify the learning process. Our exploration of innovative learning methods began through FaceTime discussions even before tools like Chat GPT. This initial inspiration led us to further delve into the field and commence the development of our resolutions. This year, we had the chance to collaborate with the UAE Ministry of Education to create a national AI with substantial potential to enhance the learning experience", Quddus explained to the student, who completed their education at Repton Dubai.
