The co-founders of global education technology platform Kami have been named EY Entrepreneur of the Year, recognising the rapid rise of one of the world’s most widely used digital classroom tools. Founded in 2013 by Hengjie Wang and Alliv Samson while they were still university students, Kami now serves more than 70 million teachers and students across 180 countries—including 90 percent of classrooms in the United States.
Despite its global success, Kami has yet to gain widespread adoption in its home country, New Zealand. Samson noted that while international classrooms have embraced structured digital learning, New Zealand still lags behind. She expressed hope that the recognition will drive national conversations about integrating technology more effectively into education.
Wang said he intends to use the award win as an opportunity to discuss the issue directly with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, who emphasized the importance of technology and entrepreneurship at the awards ceremony.
Kami will go on to represent New Zealand at EY’s Global Entrepreneur of the Year competition in Monaco in June 2026.
