Interview Series: CEREBRO

In August 2025, we met with Justin Itugot, Chief Executive Officer, and Nooky Umali, Chief Technical Officer of Cerebro, an edtech company reshaping how teachers deliver lessons and how schools manage daily operations. Founded in the Philippines and now preparing for its Canadian pilot launch, Cerebro is tackling one of education’s most persistent challenges: teachers' workload. 

Since that meeting, Cerebro has continued its strong momentum. The company recorded 97% revenue growth in the first half of 2025, onboarded 80 schools in the Philippines for SY 2025-2026. It also expanded its platform to over 12,000 curriculum-aligned digital lessons, and launched Cerebro Plus, introducing powerful new modules such as attendance tracking, a cashless canteen system, an AI lesson planner, and a school clinic record manager. 

Just days ago, Cerebro was recognized once again among the Top 100 Startups in the Philippines for 2025 by QBO Innovation, highlighting its rapid rise in the education sector and its growing international reach. Reference: LinkedIn Post

As we celebrate these recent milestones, we are pleased to share the full conversation, capturing the early stages of Cerebro’s Canadian expansion and the vision driving its continued global growth.

An interview by Frank Mahdavan, CI Ventures

Frank: Justin and Nooky, we’re delighted that you agreed to meet with us to discuss your entrepreneurship journey, Cerebro itself, and your experiences expanding into a foreign market, particularly the Canadian market.

Just a quick introduction for our readers: Cerebro is a comprehensive e-learning and school management platform designed to ease teacher workload, streamline administrative processes, and support digital transformation in schools. The system combines ready-made, curriculum-aligned digital lessons with a fully integrated School Management Software suite, helping educators teach more efficiently while giving schools a scalable digital infrastructure.

At CI Ventures, our focus is to support business development and incubation for startups entering and growing in the Canadian market, and we are pleased to collaborate with Cerebro on this journey. Thank you, both of you, for taking the time to be here today.

Justin: It’s a pleasure for us to be here. Thank you, Frank.

Nooky: Yes, thank you as well for the invite.

Frank: Let’s begin with a quick catch-up. How are things going for Cerebro these days?

Justin: Yeah, so Cerebro is doing great right now. We’re stable in the Philippines, and we’ve also just started our business development activities in Canada. The team is excited about the new developments we’re seeing in both the Canadian and Philippine markets.

Frank: That’s amazing to hear. Before we talk about where Cerebro is now, I’d love to go all the way back. What was the moment when this idea clicked for you? How did Cerebro begin?

Justin: Originally, before I started Cerebro, I was working as a teacher in a private school here in the Philippines. During that time, I realized that many teachers were still afraid of using technology in their classes, even though bigger schools were already implementing it. Based on my conversations with my co-teachers, the main reason was that they felt technology would only increase their workload.

Whenever a teacher wanted to teach online, they still had to prepare everything—PowerPoint slides, PDFs, and other materials to share with students. So I had the idea to start recreating lessons that we could easily share with teachers, so they wouldn’t hesitate to use technology for teaching. This was a year before the COVID-19 pandemic. I began building a small team of co-teachers to help me create PowerPoint presentations for different lessons in the curriculum. When the pandemic hit in 2020, we were already somewhat prepared because we had these materials ready.

That’s when I consulted Nooky. I told him about the idea, and we started working together to turn it into a startup. Nooky had experience working with several companies, including unicorns, and he had the technical background I didn’t. I was a very passionate teacher, but I didn’t have an IT degree. So he came into the picture and helped guide our tech strategy. That’s how Cerebro began.

Frank: That’s very interesting. I can completely relate to the problem you identified. My family member was also a science teacher, and I saw firsthand how many hours she spent preparing content. Teachers often don’t have the time to explore new tools or get comfortable with technology because of their workload. You recognized that gap early on, and with the pandemic, the need for your solution became even more urgent.

Now that you’ve grown into the role of CEO, how has that original problem evolved? What challenges are you dealing with today?

Justin: Honestly, the problem hasn’t changed much. It’s still the same issue: whenever teachers want to teach online, they need to prepare their own materials. The main difference now is that teachers have become more open to using technology after the pandemic. And we’ve also seen new opportunities—not just in producing content, but in other areas of educational technology where Cerebro can support schools.

Frank: Got it. Understood. That makes sense. And what about Cerebro as a company? What did the early days look like compared to where the company is now?

Justin: When we started, we only had around five team members. That included me, our two writers, and two part-time team members: my wife, who handled finance, and Nooky, who handled technology. At that time, it was really just me and the two writers working full-time on Cerebro.

But now…(pauses) because of the growing number of schools implementing Cerebro, our team has expanded to more than 40 members. And we’re happy that we’re now exploring this new market that CI Ventures is helping us with, which is the Canadian market.

Frank: That’s very interesting and inspiring as well, from a team of five. And in which year did you launch Cerebro? Was it 2020?

Justin: It was actually 2019, but we incorporated in 2020 because we needed a commercial entity to do business with schools. The pandemic pushed us to formalize the company quickly so we could immediately offer our products and services.

Frank: So, within a span of five years, you’ve expanded your team to more than 30 people in the Philippines and are now preparing to enter the Canadian market. We’re certainly excited to see Cerebro bring its learning management and school management solutions to Canadian schools. I want to talk a bit more about the product itself. Could you start with the basic value proposition of Cerebro? What does Cerebro do, and why is it different from other solutions?

Justin: You know, our tagline at Cerebro is very simple: we help teachers teach best. And I think that really captures our value proposition. Teachers are already good at what they do. They can teach even without technology. I used to teach entire modules with just a whiteboard marker. They don’t need technology to teach, but everything becomes better with it.

As you mentioned, things have changed now with AI, but the core value proposition remains the same: helping teachers teach at their best by giving them the tools they need to teach instantly.

One of the biggest problems teachers face, whether here in the Philippines or in Canada, is lesson preparation. It always comes back to that. Teachers handle dozens of students every day, and they need to prepare lessons that fit all kinds of learners. They need to check tests accurately, manage class activities, and handle administrative work.

So yes, the tasks remain the same, and our value proposition remains the same. The challenge now is how we reduce teacher workload while enabling them to teach at their highest level.

Frank: Right.

Nooky: If I may add on the product side, Cerebro actually started as a content provider for K–12 schools. That’s kindergarten to Grade 12. We now have the largest content library in the Philippines, with around 20,000 learning materials. But over time, we modernized the product to expand beyond the teachers’ domain and support the entire school. We can now transform schools into digital, or what we call “smart schools”. That’s where our school management system comes in, which is fully integrated with the learning management system.

The modernized platform is cloud-based, multi-tenant, and multi-school. And when we rolled out this new version, we were able to onboard and actually double the number of client schools in just one quarter. At the start of the year, we had fewer than 30 schools.

Justin: And now we have more than 80 schools, so more than double within that period.

Frank: The growth you’re experiencing is truly remarkable, leaving teachers to do what they do best, which is teaching, and then helping them with the technology, the content creation, and adapting their lessons makes so much sense. I honestly wish my mother had access to Cerebro before she retired. She spent so many hours after work preparing slides and materials. She would have really benefited from what your platform provides.

Justin: At times, I consider Cerebro almost as a virtual assistant agency for teachers, because we prepare the content for them, so they don’t have to. And in some ways, we also function as an extended IT team for the school. It’s not just the teachers we’re helping anymore; it’s the whole school community.

And as Nooky mentioned, we’ve expanded our services to include smart classrooms. Teachers aren’t always teaching online; most of the time, they’re still inside the physical classroom, and they need technology there as well to teach better. So we’ve started working with educational technology hardware and even AI to help with lesson planning.

Cerebro has continuously expanded its product line. We’ve developed systems for school IDs, accounting, cashless canteens, and many different modules that are now part of the entire Cerebro ecosystem. So it’s not just about lessons anymore. It’s about making the job of everyone in the school easier.

Frank: I love that mission, “making the job of everyone in the school easier”. That really captures what Cerebro does. And let me ask something that I think our readers will wonder about. Intuitively, your value makes sense, but in terms of numbers, what does the efficiency look like? How many hours does Cerebro actually save teachers?

Justin: We conduct an annual impact assessment to measure the value Cerebro provides to schools, especially teachers. Based on our latest survey, we found that we’re able to reduce teachers’ preparation time by up to two hours per day. If you multiply that by 20 teaching days per month, over 10 months of a school year, that’s up to 400 hours saved per teacher per year.

We’re happy that we can give back that time, the time they can spend on their families, their personal lives, or simply resting. And maybe even help them bring back their passion for teaching so they feel more energized for the next day.

Frank: That’s certainly a compelling value proposition. Saving two hours a day is huge. Just to confirm, were these impact assessments collected directly from teachers, or were they internal estimates on your end?

Justin: They came directly from the teachers. We did interviews and recorded their feedback. We also have product specialists who visit schools in person. Each specialist handles around ten schools, and they speak regularly with teachers to gather data. So these aren’t internal assumptions; these are real numbers from the field.

Frank: Thank you for sharing that. I’d like to shift to another topic that has become increasingly relevant in education: AI. There has been a lot of discussion around the challenges AI brings, especially when it comes to assessing whether student work is genuinely their own. Are these emerging issues something you consider within the scope of Cerebro? And how do you see AI influencing your work moving forward?

Justin: You know what, Frank, we don’t see AI as a problem for schools. Teachers may indeed struggle to determine whether students have produced their own work or if it was generated by AI, but perhaps the bigger issue is that we need to retool how teachers deliver learning.

Maybe teachers are asking too many objective questions or requiring too many essays, which makes AI feel like a threat. But AI can actually support both teachers and students. With AI, we can refine student work more easily, and we can create lessons much faster. So maybe it’s time to revise how we assess students. Instead of asking them to write an essay about caring for the environment, for example, maybe we ask them to do an actual performance task, like planting a tree.

So it’s not about viewing AI as something harmful to education. It’s about adapting our methods. And Nooky and I have talked a lot about AI’s role in schools. We’re already using it in Cerebro because it speeds up content development and improves many processes on both the business and educational sides.

Nooky: To add to that, AI amplifies teachers; it doesn’t replace them. Beyond helping teachers create new content, we now use AI to verify whether student submissions are AI-generated or not. We can compare the work to the student’s past submissions and detect inconsistencies.

This is something that would be nearly impossible for a teacher to do manually.

We also use AI to verify the authenticity of school documents, such as grades, certificates, and diplomas, by checking whether they were genuinely issued by the school or altered elsewhere. So AI has real use cases that support security and integrity in schools.

In short, AI complements our users. It can’t fully replace the human element, but it enhances their work and helps them feel more confident using technology.

Frank: So just to make sure I’m understanding correctly—Cerebro sees AI as an opportunity, an added layer of value to your platform. And while AI introduces new challenges, those challenges might simply push the education sector to revise some of its pedagogical approaches. Is that a fair summary?

Justin: That’s right. It’s similar to when calculators were first introduced. Instead of math teachers rejecting them, they eventually embraced calculators in the classroom. AI is the same. It’s a tool that can support better learning when we use it properly.

Frank: Thank you for explaining that, Justin. Could you elaborate a bit more on how Cerebro is using AI today, and how you see that evolving?

Justin: Right now, the main use of AI for us is to speed up the content development process. As you know, we provide ready-made lessons that teachers can use for their classes, so we use AI to help generate those lessons, but everything still goes through human validation. Our team compares the AI-generated output with the government curriculum to make sure everything is aligned.

We also use AI to examine student submissions. Whenever a student submits work through the Cerebro platform, the system checks whether the work is likely AI-generated or actually produced by the student. Because we store their previous submissions, AI can compare writing patterns and detect inconsistencies.

Then, as Nooky mentioned earlier, we also use AI to validate school credentials. AI can check whether a certificate, transcript, or other school-issued document was genuinely generated by the school or if it may have been altered. Those are some of the ways we’re applying AI today.

Frank: Understood. It’s great to see that Cerebro is embracing AI but still applying checks and balances, not relying on AI blindly but keeping human oversight where it matters.

Justin: We believe AI will never replace teachers. Most of us on the Cerebro team come from the teaching profession, so we see AI as a complement, not a replacement.

Nooky: Exactly. In my experience working with AI across different industries, whether it is banks, insurance companies, or hospitals, the pattern is always the same. There can never be a fully AI doctor or a fully AI teacher. AI models are built using human data, and a human still needs to evaluate whether an output is accurate or not.

AI can offload a big chunk of the work, but the final validation, whether a document is legitimate, whether a submission is correct, or whether something should be approved, still relies on a human. So even with the advances in large language models, AI is nowhere close to replacing people entirely.

Frank: I agree. There will always be aspects of teaching, such as relationship-building, intuition, and empathy, that AI can’t replace. Thank you, Nooky and Justin, for sharing your insights on how Cerebro approaches AI and where you see it heading.

Now I’d like to shift toward customer feedback and traction. You’ve spoken with many teachers and schools over the years. What would you say is the most valuable feedback you’ve received, and how did it shape your approach at Cerebro?

Justin: Since I’m the one who comes from the field, I’ve spoken to a lot of teachers, and many of them tell us the same thing: before using Cerebro, they were seriously considering resigning. There’s a high turnover rate among teachers, many leave after one or two years because they can no longer handle the pressure and workload, especially when it comes to lesson preparation.

But after using Cerebro, a lot of them start reconsidering their plans to resign because they feel the workload is becoming manageable again. That’s the most valuable feedback we’ve received. Hearing that gives us motivation to keep going, and it reassures us that we’re on the right track.

Frank: Thank you both for sharing your thoughts on AI. I’d like to shift now toward customer feedback and traction. You’ve spoken with many teachers and schools—what would you say is the most valuable feedback you’ve received, and how did it shape your approach to Cerebro?

Justin: Since I come from the education field myself, I’ve spoken to a lot of teachers, and many of them tell us the same thing: before using Cerebro, they were already thinking of resigning. There’s a high turnover rate; after one or two years, many teachers leave because they can’t keep up with the pressure and demands of the job, especially the workload tied to lesson preparation.

But when they started using Cerebro, a lot of them began rethinking their decision to resign because they could finally see a way to manage their workload. That’s the most valuable feedback we’ve received. Hearing that gives us inspiration to continue what we’re doing, and it reassures us that we’re on the right track.

Frank: It’s definitely meaningful for any company to witness the positive impact it has on its customers and community. My next question is about traction. Without sharing anything confidential, how would you describe the progress Cerebro has made in both the Philippines and Canada? What recent traction are you seeing?

Justin: We’re doing well in terms of traction. For the last five years, we’ve been able to sustain our operations in the Philippines without any external equity funding. We’ve grown using our own revenue from sales, and we’ve also received government grants from the Department of Science and Technology here in the Philippines.

And of course, with the help of our co-founding team of the Canadian entity, we’re now able to reach new markets. We’re happy that we’ve done all this and that people trust us. They continue to buy, and they’re still willing to pay for our product.

Frank: Growing organically without needing to dilute ownership is a healthy sign for any startup. I also want to ask about your expansion path into Canada. What does that plan look like today? Where does your progress stand?

Justin: Maybe Nooky can answer that.

Nooky: We’ve already created the product tailored for the Canadian market, the school management system. What’s next is retrofitting some of the content for the Canadian academy, and AI will help us speed up that process.

We’re now looking at several schools where we can pilot the product we call Cerebro Plus, which combines our learning management system, school management system, and other AI capabilities.

When we studied the Canadian market, we found ourselves in a very competitive position. Coming from Asia, our pricing gives us a strong advantage. We can compete, even go lower if needed, while still offering high-quality content and solutions.

Justin: To add to that, we’re also utilizing our team and resources in the Philippines as we begin operations in Canada. So even with market differences, we can still offer our platform at a more affordable price than many Canadian competitors.

And more importantly, we’re not just offering a platform, we’re offering content teachers can use instantly.

Nooky: That’s true. We were surprised at how quickly we were able to localize the product. It’s now just a matter of piloting in one or two schools and adjusting as needed. Initially, we’ll rely on our Philippine team, but once we scale, we’ll hire more staff in Canada so we can support a larger Canadian market.

Frank: Very interesting. You’re competitively positioned, already localizing the technology, and in discussions about pilot projects with Canadian schools. Unpacking that decision further, what led you to choose Canada as your beachhead market in North America?

Justin: When we opened our doors for expansion, it actually began with Filipino schools abroad, schools serving Filipino communities in other countries. Their challenge was that textbooks from the Philippines weren’t reaching them, so they needed something they could use immediately. Cerebro’s digital library became that solution.

Then we realized that our content has huge potential in other English-speaking countries. Since the Philippines uses English as the medium of instruction, it’s easy for us to repurpose our lessons. And historically, the Philippines was once a U.S. territory, so our educational system is very similar to North America’s.

But we didn’t want to enter the U.S. immediately, it’s a very competitive market. Canada was the perfect entry point. Its curriculum is closely aligned with the Philippines and the U.S., and Canada is multicultural, just like the Philippines. Many of our Asian-focused lessons naturally fit a multicultural context. So, curriculum alignment, cultural alignment, and market size all pointed toward Canada.

Nooky: Exactly. The Philippines is heavily influenced by North America, so the cultural and language compatibility is already there. Canada is also growing quickly, and we hope to be part of that growth, especially in helping schools modernize digitally. We’re targeting several provinces to roll out once the pilot is complete.

Frank: That makes perfect sense. Which provinces do you plan to start with?

Justin: Initially, we’re starting in Ontario because it’s central, and being close to the neighbouring countries. Our Philippine content aligns closely with the Ontario curriculum since both are based on U.S. Common Core standards.

We’re also looking at British Columbia because it’s very multicultural, something that resonates with us. From these provinces, and with the support of our co-founding investors, we plan to build the Cerebro brand and eventually reach schools across Canada.

Frank: Thank you. My understanding is that the Startup Visa Program is currently the only federal economic immigration pathway for entrepreneurs, and Cerebro has applied through this program. What challenges or bottlenecks are you experiencing?

Nooky: We’re actually ready to go. The product is already localized for Canada. Right now, it’s just a matter of waiting for permanent residency approval. Because everything is digital, we can already start engaging schools and even conduct training online, but nothing beats face-to-face interaction. Once we get approved, we can meet clients in person.

Justin: The main challenge is really the time difference. Since both of us are in the Philippines and our co-founders are in Nigeria and Beijing, we’re all working across different time zones. While we wait for the Startup Visa approval, coordinating meetings is the biggest challenge. But other than that, as Nooky said, it’s not a big obstacle. Everything can be done online now. We can start operations without being physically in Canada. Good things come to those who wait.

Frank: And how are these long processing times affecting your growth momentum? I believe the current processing timelines are around 50 months.

Justin: Before we applied, we planned to start operations once we landed in Canada. But as a startup, you need to strike while the iron is hot. We already have the business plan and market research, so we decided to start now instead of waiting years.

Being in Canada physically would make it easier, but it’s not a hindrance. Delaying would mean losing momentum and the value of all the research we’ve done. So we’re starting now, selling now, piloting now….so that by the time we physically arrive, everything is already in motion.

Nooky: Also, in the Philippines, a big growth catalyst for Cerebro was our channel partners, people who sell our product face-to-face. We want to replicate that in Canada by working with partners who already have school networks. That part is harder to do remotely because face-to-face selling is key in the education sector. So that’s where the delay affects us most.

Frank: Understood. While you prepare remotely, we’re here to support you however we can. Speaking of that, you completed your first phase of our program and are now looking to grow. Could you reflect on your experience, what challenges you faced, what you expected, and what you would recommend for improvement?

Justin: For me, the process with CI Ventures has been very efficient. The biggest challenge was finding new co-founding members. It is almost like entering a marriage (laughs), you need shared values and a shared vision. If the direction isn’t aligned, the company might end up changing entirely.

With CI Ventures’ help, we met people who truly share our vision. And they come from diverse backgrounds that have been extremely helpful for what we want to achieve in Canada.

Nooky: Exactly. Having a fully compatible team made our overall proposition stronger. Justin and I are strong in technology and operations, but our co-founding investors bring expertise in finance, business strategy, sales, and innovation. Their input has guided our prioritization, on what to pilot first, how to approach the market, and how to structure our strategy as a team.

Frank: That’s great to hear. Any feedback on other support you’ve received?

Justin: We didn’t have a solid understanding of the Canadian market at first. CI Ventures helped us with market data we didn’t even know existed. That guidance helped shape our business plan.

Nooky: Yes. The sessions about the Canadian market, especially the legal landscape, were very helpful. We also benefited from the business and market study resources you recommended.

One session that really helped us was the strategic team-building workshop. It helped us identify which roles each of us is strongest in so we could function better as a team, focusing on company goals rather than individual goals.

Frank: I’m glad those workshops were useful. I know you’ve also had to make compromises and adapt during the program. What was the hardest decision you had to make?

Nooky: I don’t think it was hard, more of a healthy compromise. For example, one of other members and I are both in technology, but we agreed on how to divide responsibilities. I focus on product development and modernization, while he drives creative direction and future technology stacks. And our other co-founding members shared insights from their own academic markets, which helped us shape our approach for Canada.

Justin: I agree. The biggest shift was that with the Canadian entity, it’s no longer just the two of us making decisions. Everything is now decided as a team. They bring experience in internationalization and business strategy areas where we needed support. So the compromise was letting new co-founders in, trusting their expertise, and sharing decision-making. We can’t reach new heights if we keep everything to ourselves. To expand, we need their support, not just financially, but through their experience.

Frank: Thank you, Justin and Nooky. We’re close to wrapping up. Is there anything you’d like to add?

Nooky: Yes. When Justin invited me to modernize the product, we initially envisioned Cerebro as the “Netflix for schools.” But we’ve gone beyond that. We still provide digital content, but now we can help schools transition into full smart schools and smart classrooms. The opportunity is much bigger than content alone.

Justin: For me, with the guidance we’ve received from CI Ventures, our vision has expanded. It’s no longer just about helping Filipino teachers teach best, it’s about helping teachers around the world teach best. And I encourage other startups to explore the programs offered by CI Ventures. They really provide new perspectives, new opportunities, and a clearer pathway into the Canadian market.

Frank: Thank you so much. It’s inspiring to see how Cerebro started by solving a problem for teachers in the Philippines and is now positioned to support teachers globally and even entire school operations. Thank you, Justin and Nooky, for your insights and for spending this time with us.

Nooky: Thank you.

Justin: Thank you for giving us the opportunity.

Nooky: And thank you for helping us through many of our early challenges.

Frank: Our pleasure.

This interview was conducted by Frank Mahdavan of CI Ventures as part of our ongoing effort to highlight the journeys of the Startups. The conversation was edited and prepared for publication by Andrea Meade.

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