The 10 Most Influential Education Companies of 2026

This year, TIME editors launch the TIME100 Companies: Industry Leaders lists, an expansion of the TIME100 Most Influential Companies issue that dives deeper into 20 sectors to look at the companies shaping their industries. These are the 10 most influential companies in education of 2026.Khan AcademyAI-enhanced tutorsTutoring a cousin struggling with unit conversion in 2004 led Sal Khan to build software exercises to help them practice. He then uploaded his first instructional videos to YouTube in 2006 as quick explainers for all students. Today, nonprofit Khan Academy serves tens of millions of learners globally. The platform's AI-powered tutor, Khanmigo, launched in partnership with OpenAI in 2023, has since scaled to 1.4 million users. Khan says AI can enable more open-ended responses and allow students to explain their reasoning. But he’s careful not to let the technology eclipse the humans at the center of learning. "If I had to pick between an amazing teacher and amazing technology for anyone's children, I would pick the amazing teacher every time," he says. A recent study that found students had significant improvement in learning outcomes only when using Khan Academy paired with a dedicated human coordinator backs up his view. Khan Academy plans to