ivvi Wins Big at BETT Awards

Last month our friends at ivvi (the AI-powered mind mapping and visual note-taking app) won a prestigious award at BETT in London - the world’s largest education technology exhibition. To celebrate their amazing achievement, we sent some questions over to husband-and-wife Founders Darius Namdaran and Jo Lee to learn more about ivvi, their BETT award recognition, and what the future holds for the newly crowned ‘award winning’ team!

What is BETT, and why did ivvi engage?

BETT is the world's largest education technology exhibition, bringing together 30,000+ attendees from 130+ countries to London, UK. The BETT Awards are widely regarded as the "Oscars of educational technology." It's the gold standard.

We applied hoping the judges would at least hear that ivvi existed. To our delight, we were shortlisted. To our complete surprise, we won! We thought it would take at least another 2 years for us to be considered a winner.

What is the BETT award you won, and what were the criteria/requirements judges were looking for?

The 2026 BETT Award for SEND & Inclusion Resources and Services. The judging criteria are extensive. Products are evaluated against:

• Distinction and Innovation

• Fit for Purpose

• Inclusivity and Accessibility

• Parental Engagement

• Evidence and Research

• GDPR Compliance and Online Safety

• Customer Support

• Value for Money

• Environmental Sustainability

A panel examined our written application and we became finalists in November 2025. In the final round, another panel tested the product and reviewed our video submission. It takes hours for judges to select winners from hundreds of applications.

Did you receive feedback from the judges?

Yes, Bett said:

"The judges were particularly impressed by ivvi. A problem driven technology designed to support dyslexic learners at all stages of learning. Its AI powered transcription feature automatically records lectures, creates notes, and generates mind maps and visuals, making information more organised and accessible."

Ivvi was founded just 2 years ago - what does this award tell you at this early stage of your journey?

Jo said it best on the night: "We believe in ivvi, and it's wonderful that BETT believes in ivvi too."

This is the highest validation a SEND product can receive in the UK. There isn't anything higher.

We're the first AI native company to win in the SEND category in its 15 year history. I believe it's because of our approach: our AI helps you think visually, not do the thinking for you. Most AI tools focus on giving you answers. We focus on helping students process information in a language they understand.

At the opening of Bett ceremony, the Minister for Education announced strict AI safety rules for schools. To our joy, we saw that ivvi already passed all of them. We are against AI meeting summaries for students because they disempower learners. That's exactly what educators want: AI that helps you think, not AI that hands you an answer.

What is the background of ivvi?

It began nine years ago on our daughter's bedroom floor.

She was sobbing. Top of her class, but she'd just failed a major exam. She'd done everything right: reading, rewriting, studying. Nothing went in.

That's when we realised she had dyslexia, just like her dad. And we had a wake up moment: dyslexia isn't just about learning to read words. That's one half. The other half is learning to process words.

Darius taught her to mind map. She transformed that wall of words into a map of meaning. She went on to do extremely well at school and university.

So we spent seven years tutoring thousands of students to mind map. They passed exams, finished degrees, became professionals. But they kept telling us: "I can't take notes in lessons and meetings. The words come too fast."

They asked: "Is there a mindmapping software that can record the audio, transcribe it and turn the lecture into a mind map during the lesson?"

We said no. Then two years ago, we gathered a team of parents who funded it, and built it. We called it ivvi: "Intelligent Voice to Visual Interface."

Who is ivvi trying to help?

Students with dyslexia. There are 800,000 in the UK trapped behind walls of words, even when they can read. 140 million worldwide.

For most people, mind mapping is handy. For about 10% of the population, it's a life saver. It's like digging yourself out of trouble.

If you can't get your ideas out, it sabotages school, university, your career. Your dreams get buried. But once you can share your ideas visually, everything changes.

How does ivvi support these users?

Our main users are university students with dyslexia who receive ivvi through Disabled Students' Allowance.

A student hits record. ivvi captures the audio, creates a synchronised transcript, and builds a mind map in real time as the lecture unfolds. Keywords are extracted, icons chosen, structure identified. The map becomes a visual index of everything said.

Crucially, ivvi doesn't create meeting summaries like Otter or Zoom. We're against that. Students need to choose what they think is important, not be handed a summary. ivvi filters information into keywords; it doesn't summarise.

Students have four buttons while listening: Skip, Map, Quote, and Highlight. They can filter their notes by these categories afterwards. The map and written outline stay synchronised, so they can work in whichever mode suits them.

What's next for ivvi?

ivvi 3.0. The big addition is capturing images from slides, not just whole slides but individual elements you can crop and add to relevant branches.

We're also adding: import PDFs and PowerPoints into maps, capture slides from video meetings or YouTube, convert hand drawn mind maps automatically, and clip websites into instant maps.

Watch this (visual) space

The Biggerplate team and our entire member community sends huge congratulations to the ivvi team on their award win. We’re delighted for Jo, Darius, and the entire ivvi team to have received this recognition - it reflects not just the stunning progress (in just two years) with ivvi as a product, but their much longer effort to support and empower dyslexic students with mind mapping techniques over many years. We can’t wait to see what they do next…!