Metaschool AI won the $40,000 Michael & Lori Milken Family Foundation Grand Prize at the 2026 Milken–Penn GSE Education Business Plan Competition, taking the top award at the 17th annual event hosted by the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education.
Metaschool AI operates an accredited online high school designed to help Ghanaian students continue learning throughout the year through mobile-first instruction.
The platform addresses disruptions associated with Ghana’s double-track education system, in which different groups of students can attend school during alternating periods because of capacity constraints. Metaschool’s model is designed to provide continuity during those off-campus periods.
The company was one of seven finalists that pitched live at Penn’s Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.
The 2026 competition marked the first time the finals had returned to the University of Pennsylvania campus since the COVID-19 pandemic. It was also the first year that the competition was presented alongside Penn GSE’s Catalyst Innovation Summit, bringing together education entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, practitioners and industry leaders.
Three additional ventures received major awards.
Unified Track won the $25,000 Flexion Prize. The company was co-founded by Dustin Bainbridge, a student in Penn GSE’s Mid-Career Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership.
Literacy Tree received the $10,000 Royer Cooper Cohen Braunfeld Prize, while Brikap won the $5,000 EdSales Revenue Machine Audience Choice Prize.
The winning teams represented a broader group of education companies selected from the competition’s applicant pool and advanced through Penn GSE’s venture-development process.
Before reaching the finals, semifinalists participated in Catapult, Catalyst @ Penn GSE’s virtual accelerator program.
The accelerator provides founders with self-paced learning, mentorship and feedback from education and business experts before the ventures pitch to judges and potential supporters.
At the finals, the seven companies presented to a live judging panel and an audience that included entrepreneurs, investors and education practitioners.
The Milken–Penn GSE Education Business Plan Competition has become a significant source of early-stage support for education entrepreneurs.
Since its launch, the competition has awarded more than $2.5 million in cash and prizes. Former winners and finalists have subsequently raised more than $250 million in follow-on capital while expanding their organizations and educational impact.
Penn GSE positions the competition around ventures that combine educational impact with the ability to develop scalable and sustainable organizations.
This year’s winning companies reflected that mandate across several parts of the education market, from Metaschool AI’s mobile-first secondary education model to literacy and education technology businesses.
The four 2026 prize winners were:
- Metaschool AI — $40,000 Michael & Lori Milken Family Foundation Grand Prize
- Unified Track — $25,000 Flexion Prize
- Literacy Tree — $10,000 Royer Cooper Cohen Braunfeld Prize
- Brikap — $5,000 Audience Choice Prize presented by The EdSales Revenue Machine
The event’s return to Penn’s campus also created a closer connection between the pitch competition and the university’s broader education innovation ecosystem.
Penn GSE’s Catalyst initiative supports education entrepreneurs through accelerators, mentorship and other programs designed to move emerging ideas toward sustainable ventures.
For Metaschool AI, the grand prize gives the company additional resources and visibility as it works to expand an online high school model built specifically around conditions affecting students in Ghana.
The company’s mobile-first approach could be particularly important in markets where students may have more consistent access to smartphones than laptops or traditional classroom infrastructure.
The 2026 competition was supported by the Michael and Lori Milken Family Foundation, Flexion, Royer Cooper Cohen Braunfeld and The EdSales Revenue Machine.
KEY QUOTES:
“The EBPC recognizes entrepreneurs who are not only identifying important challenges in education but also building thoughtful, scalable, and measurable solutions to address them.”
“This year’s winners demonstrated the vision, resilience, and commitment required to convert an idea into a sustainable venture with the potential to impact a broad scale of diverse global learners.”
John Gamba, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Penn GSE
“For 17 years, the Milken–Penn GSE EBPC has brought fresh thinking to the challenges and opportunities facing education.”
“The competition reflects an enduring commitment to asking what is possible, supporting new approaches, and creating opportunities for ideas to move from vision to impact.”
Michael Golden, Vice Dean of Innovative Programs and Partnerships at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education
