Ben Whately (entrepreneur)

Ben Whately is a British entrepreneur and CEO of Memrise, a language-learning platform, and Astron Health, a precision oncology company.

Early life and education

In 2000-2003, Whately studied at the University of Oxford, where he earned a Master of Arts (MA) in Experimental Psychology.[1][2] His research focused on neural networks and computational modeling of human learning.[3] While at Oxford, Whately met his future Memrise co-founders, Ed Cooke and Greg Detre, during their studies in neuroscience and psychology.[4]

Career

In 2010, Whately co-founded Memrise alongside Ed Cooke and Greg Detre.[5][6][7] The platform uses spaced repetition, mnemonic techniques, and artificial intelligence to help users learn languages more effectively.[8][9][10] In 2013, he was the product innovation lead on Cat Academy.[11]

Also, Ben Whately is the author of Black Dragon River, about experiences learning Chinese through immersion.[12] In 2025, Ben Whately co-authored "The Memrise Prize, an International Research Competition: A Pragmatic Trial to Compare Methods for Learning Foreign Language Vocabulary," published in Scientific Data.[13][14]

In 2024, Whately co-founded Astron Health, a bioinformatics company focused on precision oncology.[15][16][17]

Social activities

In 2022, Whately founded The Angry Teenagers, a climate action project that utilizes the Tezos blockchain to fund reforestation through the sale of dynamically updating NFTs.[18][19][20]

As a venture partner at Carbon13 and a supporter of programs like Zinc Ventures, Whately assists entrepreneurs in developing commercially viable businesses focused on transitioning economic systems toward sustainability.[21][22]

References

  1. ^ AI and the Science of Language Learning with Ben Whately of Memrise - Edtech Insiders. 2023-07-31. Retrieved 2026-02-03 – via edtechinsiders.buzzsprout.com.
  2. ^ Shana (2023-07-19). "148 - Language Learning with Ben Whately, Co-Founder of Memrise". American English Podcast. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
  3. ^ "Ben Whately - Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer at Memrise". THE ORG. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
  4. ^ Shana (2023-07-19). "148 - Language Learning with Ben Whately, Co-Founder of Memrise". American English Podcast. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
  5. ^ "Language learning AI platform Memrise raises $15.5m in a Series B funding round". Silicon Republic. Silicon Republic. 12 June 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2026.
  6. ^ "How Generative AI is Changing EdTech - April 13, 2023". techjobsforgood.com. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
  7. ^ Lunden, Ingrid (2018-06-11). "Memrise raises $15.5M as its AI-based language-learning app passes 35M users". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
  8. ^ "Unlocking Language Learning: The Memrise Experience - Oreate AI Blog". 2026-01-16. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
  9. ^ Chowdhry, Amit (2023-04-18). "Memrise: Redefining The $115 Billion Global Language Learning Market". Pulse 2.0. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
  10. ^ AI and the Science of Language Learning with Ben Whately of Memrise - Edtech Insiders. 2023-07-31. Retrieved 2026-02-03 – via edtechinsiders.buzzsprout.com.
  11. ^ Lomas, Natasha (2013-11-20). "Behold Internets! Memrise Launches CatAcademy App That Deploys Cute Cats To Teach You Spanish". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
  12. ^ Whately, Ben (2005). Black Dragon River. Lulu Press, Inc. ISBN 1411671465.
  13. ^ Potts, Rosalind; van den Broek, G. S. E.; Albers, Anke M.; Balaguer, Jan; Berkers, Ruud; de Jonge, Mario; Dhanani, Asif; Gerke, Paul K.; Jivani, Alysha; Konrad, Boris; Kuepper-Tetzel, Carolina E.; McDaniel, Mark A.; et al. (15 September 2025). "The Memrise Prize, an international research competition: a pragmatic trial to compare methods for learning foreign language vocabulary". Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition. doi:10.1037/mac0000224.
  14. ^ "Ben Whately - Oneday Mentor". www.oneday.org. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
  15. ^ "ASTRON HEALTH LTD people - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
  16. ^ Cancer Is Personal: Treat It That Way | Ben Whately & Padman Vamadevan | Degrees of Health. 2025-08-05. Retrieved 2026-02-03 – via shows.acast.com.
  17. ^ "Benjamin Whately investment portfolio | PitchBook". pitchbook.com. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
  18. ^ "The Angry Teenagers – Taking Action On Climate Change And Funding Reforestation Dynamically Through Tezos NFTs". XTZ News. 2022-07-04. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
  19. ^ Clawson, Trevor. "Green Utility: Can NFTs Help To Regenerate The Planet?". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2025-09-06. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
  20. ^ "A reforestation revolution of 'Angry Teenagers'". Ecohustler. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
  21. ^ "Carbon13 - 2026 Investor Profile, Portfolio, Team & Investment Trends - Tracxn". tracxn.com. 2026-02-02. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
  22. ^ "Venture Builder Cambridge". Carbon13. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
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