What does the future of learning really look like?
I sat down with six EdTech leaders at Barcelona’s biggest tech event to hear what they're really going through.
Mobile World Congress 2025 was ferocious. Every tech company you can think of was in Barcelona to attend. Steve Wozniak showed up to diss Elon Musk, Samsung debuted a folding Nintendo Switch while Chinese car company Xpeng showcased what looked like a flying car - but is actually a drone big enough to carry two people.
But beyond the main exhibition halls, it was in Hall 8.1 (what could only be described as a corporate daytime discoteca) where I met a community of EdTech and HRTech startups battling the uncertainty of today’s market while influencing the way we learn and work tomorrow.
I spoke with six founders and leaders, five from EdTech and one from traditional education, about their vision for the industry and how they navigate the ambiguity of startup life. Their insights were sharp, their challenges very real, and their determination unstoppable.
1. Art Maslow, Founder & CEO, Foxtery
Three words defining EdTech in 2025? Automation. Personalization. Engagement.
For Art, engagement isn’t about grabbing attention with gimmicks. It’s about learning experiences that deeply connect. “Gamification can be seen as external manipulation. What we do is different - we ask the right questions, clarify each learner’s needs, and create a deeply personalized experience.”
Foxtery has taken course creation from weeks to hours, aiming for a “zero-time platform” that delivers exactly what an employee needs, when they need it.
What would be hard to leave behind if Foxtery disappeared tomorrow? “I wouldn't be able to serve the people who have lost their spark at work. I see them all the time in big enterprises, just clocking in and out. If I wasn’t solving that problem, that would be sad.”
And what wouldn’t you miss from running a company? “Getting caught in the daily grind and losing sight of the big picture. The company grows when I learn to let go.”
Art Maslow, Founder & CEO, Foxtery
2. Elena Zangeeva, Co-Founder & CEO, Kvistly
Three words that capture the mood of HRTech in 2025? Connection. Engagement. AI.
For Elena, the paradox of the modern workplace is clear: “We’re more connected than ever, but loneliness and isolation haven't gone anywhere - both in remote setups and even in the office.” AI is here to stay, and leveraging it for HRTech and EdTech is non-negotiable.
If Kvistly disappeared tomorrow, what would you miss? “The rush of learning new things daily. As a founder, I wear so many hats - marketing, sales, product, AI. If I went back to corporate HR, I’d miss that dynamism.”
And what wouldn’t you miss? “The sheer uncertainty. In corporate, you plan annually. In startups? Quarterly, if you’re lucky.”
How do you stay motivated despite the ambiguity? “Having a huge, important goal - to be the #1 corporate e-learning platform. We overcome ambiguity through experimentation. We test constantly because you never know what will work. And honestly? Experimenting is fun.”
Elena Zangeeva, Co-Founder & CEO, Kvistly
3. Alex Rius Laorden, Founder, Levelab Technologies
Three words that describe education in 2025? Impactful. Still expensive. Not accessible.
Levelab is on a mission to bring hands-on learning - previously only available in physical classrooms - online. “Engineering, multimedia, design are subjects that need hands-on training, and traditional universities simply leave out people who cannot afford a campus education or who cannot physically attend.”
If Levelab disappeared tomorrow, what would be the hardest part? “Not being able to bridge this gap. Education should be for everyone.”
And the easiest? “Free time. Haven’t had much of that in three years.”
How do you deal with the ambiguity of entrepreneurship? “As an engineer I love structure, but I’ve learned to survive in the chaos. And these days, I’m starting to enjoy it!”
Alex Rius Laorden, Founder, Levelab Technologies
4. Rasool Seyghaly, Founder & CTO, TECHWICH
Three words that set the tone for your 2025? Learning. Personalization. Learning paths.
“Traditional education isn’t serving students,” Rasool says bluntly. With dropout rates climbing, Techwich’s AI-driven learning management system personalizes learning experiences, helping educators track performance and optimize learning environments with an AI-powered recommendations system.
Techwich already boasts 600,000 social media followers and a 20% improvement in test scores among pilot students. The company sells modular AI-powered tools to public and private universities, seamlessly integrating with their existing systems.
His core belief? “Not everyone likes class debates. Not everyone thrives writing dissertations. Education must be as unique as the learner.”
Rasool Seyghaly, Founder & CTO, Techwich
5. Andrea Pitrone, COO, Loop AI Group - The AI Agents Platform
Which words characterise your industry in 2025? Humanization of AI. Emotional intelligence. Stress management.
LoopAI started in banking and insurance back in 2018 but has since expanded into healthcare, proving its versatility across industries. Andrea believes that AI should enhance human intelligence, not replace it. “The future of AI isn’t just automation - it’s how we use it to support emotional intelligence and manage stress in high-performance environments.”
What would be hardest to leave behind? “The autonomy. Making decisions fast, testing, executing. No bureaucracy. No asking for permission.”
And what wouldn’t you miss? “The constant push to prove AI’s value. AI isn’t magic, but the hype means expectations are sky-high. Educating clients about realistic use cases takes time.”
How do you handle career ambiguity? “In past roles, I was forced to execute decisions made by others. That crushed my creativity. My solution? I quit. Now, I create.”
Andrea Pitrone , COO, LoopAI
6. Joan Vicens Sard, Associate Director, ESSCA
Three words to describe executive education in 2025? Agility. Innovation. Perseverance.
In higher education, change can be slow. Very slow. Joan leads the international executive education department at ESSCA, a rare pocket of agility in an otherwise bureaucratic system. “We test new programs before the main institution approves them. But in academia, by the time a new course is launched, the content might already be obsolete. That’s the challenge.”
What keeps you going? “I thrive on solving ‘next-to-impossible’ challenges. They frustrate me, keep me awake at night - but that’s when I perform at my best.”
How do you overcome difficulty? “People. Family, friends, colleagues. The right network makes all the difference. So if you don't have one right now, build one.”
Joan Vicens Sard, Associate Director, ESSCA Business School
The Future of Learning: More Questions Than Answers
The startups in Hall 8.1 are tackling some of the biggest challenges in learning and work today: engagement, accessibility, AI-powered personalization. They’re also battling the relentless ambiguity of entrepreneurship - client losses, layoffs, funding droughts. But their resilience is undeniable.
Each founder had their own philosophy for surviving the chaos. Some embrace experimentation. Others anchor themselves in purpose. One just quits if the environment isn’t right.
What’s clear is this: the future of learning and work is being rewritten by the risk-takers in EdTech and HRTech. And in the end, perhaps the best lesson these founders have to offer isn’t just about education - it’s about navigating uncertainty, taking smart risks, and staying committed to a vision that matters.
The world is changing. These founders aren’t waiting for permission to change with it.
