Ben Whately
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
Memrise
In 2010, Whately co-founded Memrise alongside Ed Cooke and Greg Detre.[5][6] The platform launched in private beta after winning the Princeton Entrepreneurship Club 2009 TigerLaunch competition.[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]
Astron Health
In 2024, Whately co-founded Astron Health, a bioinformatics company focused on precision oncology.[14] The company uses an approach called "Extended Precision Oncology" that analyzes peer-reviewed literature and multi-omics data to match cancer treatments to individual patient profiles.[15]
Angel investing and advisory work
Whately is an angel investor and advisor with focus on medical technology, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and climate technology. In the climate technology sector, his investments include Unibloom and Pawprint, both of which provide carbon-tracking products.[16] He serves on the MBA programme at OneDay.org, providing guidance to aspiring entrepreneurs and professionals.[17]
Climate tech 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
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- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Shana (2023-07-19). "148 - Language Learning with Ben Whately, Co-Founder of Memrise". American English Podcast. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
- ↑ "Ben Whately - Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer at Memrise". THE ORG. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
- ↑ Shana (2023-07-19). "148 - Language Learning with Ben Whately, Co-Founder of Memrise". American English Podcast. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "How Generative AI is Changing EdTech - April 13, 2023". techjobsforgood.com. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
- ↑ Lunden, Ingrid (2018-06-11). "Memrise raises $15.5M as its AI-based language-learning app passes 35M users". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
- ↑ "Unlocking Language Learning: The Memrise Experience - Oreate AI Blog". 2026-01-16. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
- ↑ Chowdhry, Amit (2023-04-18). "Memrise: Redefining The $115 Billion Global Language Learning Market". Pulse 2.0. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Lomas, Natasha (2013-11-20). "Behold Internets! Memrise Launches CatAcademy App That Deploys Cute Cats To Teach You Spanish". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
- ↑ Whately, Ben (2005). Black Dragon River. Lulu Press, Inc. ISBN 1411671465. Search this book on
- ↑ 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. (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. Text "et al." ignored (help)
- ↑ "ASTRON HEALTH LTD people - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "Benjamin Whately investment portfolio | PitchBook". pitchbook.com. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
- ↑ "Ben Whately - Oneday Mentor". www.oneday.org. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
- ↑ News, X. T. Z. (2022-07-04). "The Angry Teenagers – Taking Action On Climate Change And Funding Reforestation Dynamically Through Tezos NFTs". XTZ News. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
- ↑ Clawson, Trevor. "Green Utility: Can NFTs Help To Regenerate The Planet?". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2025-09-06. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
- ↑ "A reforestation revolution of 'Angry Teenagers'". Ecohustler. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
- ↑ "Carbon13 - 2026 Investor Profile, Portfolio, Team & Investment Trends - Tracxn". tracxn.com. 2026-02-02. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
- ↑ "Venture Builder Cambridge". Carbon13. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
