The AI tutor platform by Masters’ Union stands at the intersection of education, electronics, and artificial intelligence, promising to reshape how knowledge is delivered and experienced. In an exclusive conversation with EFY’s Akanksha Sondhi Gaur, Pratham Mittal, Founder, Masters’ Union, explained how their proprietary avatars and AI models are designed to transform online education, while balancing accessibility, faculty rights, and future monetisation strategies.
Q. What inspired you to launch the world’s first AI royalty model for educators?
A. We wanted to rethink the role of faculty in digital education. On most platforms, professors are treated like contractors and lose control over their work. In our model, educators retain ownership of their intellectual property and earn royalties whenever their AI avatar teaches a student. This makes them true stakeholders. At the same time, advancements in AI now allow us to build a genuinely hyper-personalised learning system by combining open source models with our proprietary innovations. The royalty framework ensures that teachers, whose content is often freely consumed without compensation, can finally monetise their expertise in a scalable, sustainable way—a framework we see as a true industry disruption.
Q. How do the avatars manage to capture not just content but also the pedagogy and reasoning of professors?
A. We train the avatars not only on textual data but also on the faculty’s tone, cadence, and reasoning patterns, allowing them to capture both what is taught and how it is taught. Model training is primarily based on classroom video recordings, enabling the replication of the instructor’s voice, style, and pedagogy. On the front end, we have developed our own app, which is fully owned as intellectual property. For voice modelling, we integrate specialised AI from partners like 11 Labs to capture speech intonation and flow, while proprietary language models ensure authenticity in responses and delivery.
Q. Why was it important to position educators as IP holders instead of employees?
A. Teaching is intellectual creation. Just as musicians and authors earn royalties, professors should, too. By treating educators’ work as intellectual property, AI tutors carry their expertise while ensuring faculty receive credit and financial benefit. This model empowers educators, recognising their contributions and allowing them to monetise their digital likeness alongside their role as employees.
Q. How does the royalty payout work, and how is it scaled as learner numbers grow?
A. We use a ‘pay-per-use’ model, similar to Spotify, where faculty earn royalties each time a student interacts with their avatar. Earnings scale with the course’s reach and impact, supplementing their base salary. Participation is optional, though most faculty opt in.
Q. Could this create a new career model for subject experts?
A. Yes. Imagine a finance expert building an AI teaching portfolio creation and management and reaching millions worldwide without being tied to a single institution. It is a whole new career possibility that could redefine the trajectory of educators globally.
Q. Can educators opt out or monetise their avatars independently?
A. Faculty have full flexibility to decide how and where their avatars are used. Participation is voluntary and currently limited to in-house faculty, who can opt in or out at any time.
Q. How have faculty responded to digitising their teaching style?
A. Faculty see it as a way to amplify their impact globally while retaining recognition and ownership. They currently rate the experience 6 out of 10 but expect higher satisfaction as the technology improves.
Q. Could innovations like neuromorphic chips or quantum computing play a role down the line?
A. Definitely. Neuromorphic chips can make the system far more energy-efficient, while quantum computing could unlock personalised learning simulations at an unprecedented scale. While there is potential for these emerging electronics to impact AI at scale someday, their practical adoption is still speculative.
Q. What safeguards are in place to prevent misinformation, bias, or hallucination?
A. We use rigorous moderation pipelines, real-time fact-checking, and human-in-the-loop verification for sensitive topics. All AI is trained exclusively on proprietary faculty content and instructions, with strict restrictions preventing it from generating information outside this database. This minimises hallucinations or misinformation. Access is limited to enrolled students via web or mobile apps, and cloud infrastructure ensures security. Because faculty train the models directly, they retain full control over avatar responses, guaranteeing accuracy in specialised subjects like strategy or venture capital.
Q. Any final insights for the wider electronics and engineering community?
A. AI education relies on deep electronic innovations—DSPs, accelerators, edge devices, and neuromorphic chips. Engineers can significantly shape the classrooms of tomorrow, making education more accessible, effective, and engaging worldwide.
