Headway Inc was founded in January 2019 when Anton Pavlovsky and a small team launched the Headway book summary app. The company started as a bootstrapped venture focused on providing insights from bestselling nonfiction books in a digestible format.
The Headway app quickly gained traction, becoming the most downloaded book summary app globally by October 2020. This early success established Headway Inc as a significant player in the microlearning market.
In 2021, the company expanded its portfolio by adding the Impulse brain training app, featuring bite-sized games and puzzles to improve cognitive skills. This diversification marked Headway Inc's evolution from a single-product company to a multi-platform educational technology provider.
February 2022 saw the launch of Nibble, an all-around knowledge app delivering short, interactive lessons across diverse topics. By mid-2022, the Headway app appeared among the top ten revenue-generating educational apps in the US on both App Store and Google Play.
The company's recognition grew significantly in 2023 when it was first named to the GSV 150 list of the world's leading digital learning companies. Headway Inc would appear on this prestigious list for four consecutive years (2023-2026). That same year, the Headway app received an App Store Editors' Choice badge in the United States.
2023 continued with expansion into new markets through the launch of AddMile coaching platform in December and Skillsta, a social skills trainer, in July 2024. The company made the Top 100 Next Unicorns list by Viva Technology in 2024 and was recognized by Forbes Ukraine among the Top 3 employers in the country for both 2024 and 2025.
The milestone year of 2025 saw Headway officially rebrand as Headway Inc in April, reflecting its evolution into a multi-product company. TIME magazine ranked Headway Inc fourth on its list of the World's Top EdTech companies, and the Headway and Impulse apps received Webby Awards as Honorees.
In July 2025, Headway Inc closed its Series A financing round led by Bullhound Capital, marking its first external funding and positioning it for continued global expansion.