Chiron

What do they actually do

Chiron makes an iPad app that reads handwritten math as a student writes and checks each step for correctness in real time. The app captures Apple Pencil-style strokes, converts them to symbolic math, flags each step as right or wrong, and can show a fix or hint before the student moves on (App Store, demo video).

Today it focuses on school and early university topics where stepwise symbolic reasoning applies (arithmetic, algebra, trigonometry, calculus, some probability). The team emphasizes a neuro‑symbolic approach so feedback is precise and verifiable rather than a language model guess (YC profile, vision, demo video).

It’s publicly available on the App Store and used by individual students and tutors who want immediate, step‑level feedback on handwritten work; the current product is an iPad utility rather than a general chat tutor (App Store, YC post).

Who are their target customer(s)

• Students who write math by hand (middle/high school and early college): They make line‑by‑line algebra/calculus mistakes and rarely get immediate, step‑level feedback, so small errors block learning. Chiron flags each step in real time and suggests fixes as they write (App Store, demo).
• Private tutors and tutors on marketplaces: Checking every algebraic step for each student is time‑consuming and can crowd out higher‑level instruction. Chiron automates step checking and proposes corrections so tutors can focus on pedagogy (YC profile, demo).
• Classroom teachers (formative feedback and grading): They can’t deliver one‑on‑one, stepwise feedback at class scale, and grading handwritten work is slow, delaying remediation. Deterministic step checking can speed feedback and pinpoint where students go wrong (vision).
• Parents and homeschoolers helping kids: Many parents can’t diagnose exactly why an algebra step is wrong or how to fix it, leading to frustration. An app that reads handwriting and shows the correct next step makes help sessions more actionable (App Store, demo).
• Edtech product managers / schools evaluating tutoring at scale: They want reliable, automatable stepwise feedback but worry about hallucinations from LLM‑only systems. Chiron’s neuro‑symbolic checker aims to provide verifiable step validation for scalable tutoring workflows (vision, YC profile).

How would they acquire their first 10, 50, and 100 customers

• First 10: Onboard students and tutors from the founders’ networks and local tutoring centers, run short guided sessions to observe usage, collect screen recordings and quotes, and fix early UX/recognition issues (App Store, demo).
• First 50: Target private tutors and active online tutor/homeschool communities with a one‑minute demo, offer temporary free access for feedback, add a simple referral reward, and run recurring live demos to generate testimonials and a one‑pager for tutors (YC profile, demo).
• First 100: Convert effective tutors into ambassadors and run pilots with local schools/after‑school programs, providing short onboarding and reports on common error patterns; use pilot data and tutor referrals for case studies, App Store positioning, and teacher‑press reviews (vision, YC profile).

What is the rough total addressable market

Top-down context:

There are roughly 49.6 million students in U.S. public K‑12, with 15.5 million in grades 9–12 and 34.1 million in K–8 (NCES). About 70% of U.S. teens report access to a tablet at home, indicating broad tablet penetration in the target age range (Pew Research).

Bottom-up calculation:

Focus on U.S. grades 6–12 (students most likely to do stepwise algebra/calculus). Using 15.5M high schoolers plus an estimated ~11M middle schoolers (assumption based on K‑8 distribution) gives ~26.5M students; applying 70% tablet access yields ~18.5M potential users. At a hypothetical $60/year ARPU, U.S. consumer TAM ≈ $1.1B (18.5M × $60) (NCES, Pew).

Assumptions:

• Middle school (grades 6–8) approximated as ~one‑third of K‑8 enrollment from NCES totals.
• Tablet access used as a proxy for iPad/Pencil‑capable availability; not all tablets are iPads.
• ARPU assumed at $60/year for consumer/student subscriptions; school pricing could differ.

Who are some of their notable competitors

• Photomath: Popular photo‑based math solver that recognizes handwritten problems from images and shows step‑by‑step solutions; strong consumer adoption but not focused on real‑time, inking‑as‑you‑write step checking (Photomath).
• Mathway (Chegg): Step‑by‑step math problem solver for typed or photographed inputs across many topics; oriented to final solutions and explanations rather than validating each handwritten step live (Mathway).
• Symbolab (Course Hero): Symbolic math engine that provides worked steps and calculators for algebra through calculus; strong for typed inputs and solution paths, less focused on handwriting‑in‑progress feedback (Symbolab).
• Khan Academy (Khanmigo): Free math practice at scale and an optional AI assistant (Khanmigo) for tutoring‑style help; generally chat‑ and problem‑set‑based, not deterministic step‑validation of live handwriting (Khan Academy).
• Microsoft Math Solver: Free app and web tool that solves typed or scanned math problems with solution steps; focuses on problem solving rather than verifying each handwritten manipulation as it’s written (Microsoft Math Solver).