Otus Tops the Education Category in the 2026 SmartBrief Innovation Awards in AI

Serving nearly 100 school districts and over 203,000 students, Otus AI gives educators faster access to insights that help them better support each student.

CHICAGO, Nov. 10, 2026 — Otus, the leading K-12 assessment, data, and insights solution, has earned top honors in the Education category of the 2026 SmartBrief Innovation Awards in AI. The awards honor companies using AI to deliver meaningful results for their customers across industries including finance, marketing, cybersecurity, and more.

The judging panel appreciated the ease with which educators gain insights across class, school, and district data.

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Otus AI gives district leaders and classroom teachers the ability to instantly explore data, generate insights, and take action without relying on technical specialists or static reporting tools. The AI-powered analytics and visualization platform is integrated into the tools schools already use, allowing educators to quickly handle tasks that traditionally pull them away from students.

"Receiving this SmartBrief Innovation Award in the fast-moving world of artificial intelligence highlights the power and functionality of Otus AI," said Chris Hull, Otus President and Co-Founder. "Our platform has been shaped by the administrators and teachers who use it, and we will continue to collaborate with them to ensure advanced analytics are accessible and practical for every educator."

The judging panel appreciated the ease with which educators can ask questions and gain insights across class, school, and district data. "I love this takes away the fluff and it is all about the data," a panelist noted. "It gives insights on the student and connects all data into a single platform with a clean UX."

In the 2026-27 school year, more than 480 schools are using Otus AI, empowering administrators and educators to maximize outcomes for over 230,000 students. The platform provides real-time insights into student performance in relation to learning standards and grade-level expectations and enables teachers to identify learning gaps so they can tailor classroom experiences to address students' individual needs.

"Traditionally, building dashboards or uncovering trends across multiple systems required data teams, analysts, or business intelligence expertise—not to mention precious hours," Hull explained. "Otus AI ensures student data remains protected while giving educators faster access to the information they need."

For the full list of winners of SmartBrief's Innovation Awards in AI, please visit: https://www.smartbrief.com/original/meet-the-innovators-putting-ai-to-work.

SOURCE Otus, LLC