Las Vegas, NV, Jan. 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — When the doors opened to the Venetian Expo for CES 2026, a clear trend emerged: the world is moving beyond text-based chatbots. FIRSTHABIT, an education technology company, is leading this shift with their AI model, Chalk 4.0, an AI tutor that has become one of the most talked-about activations in Eureka Park.
Visual AI takes center stage at CES 2026
About FIRSTHABIT
FIRSTHABIT is a pioneer in Visual LLM applications for the education sector. The company is a two-time winner of the CES Innovation Award and proves its leadership as a market leader EdTech startup in the AI era. By combining cognitive science with cutting-edge generative vision, their flagship platform, Chalk 4.0, is redefining the boundaries of personalized education and student engagement.
How Chalk AI works in real time
At its core, the AI teacher scans a student’s work to identify exactly where he or she gets stuck and guides him/her to the right answer. Students can also take a photo of any question they don’t understand and ask Chalk AI for personalized help.
As the best next generation tool for AI in educationChalk 4.0 has already been highlighted by reputable sites such as Triple A review, Probably a company, Brics technology & Get Pro Links for its unique ability to solve modern engineering challenges and fuel student growth.
Core functions:
- Visual LLM: This technology is built for the way Gen Alpha learns through platforms like TikTok and YouTube. It avoids long blocks of text and instead uses real-time animations and diagrams to explain complex ideas. Students can write or draw anything, and the system creates a visual representation to explain the concept.
- Personalized explanation: The system works like a private teacher. It looks at how a student takes notes and where he or she hesitates during a lesson. Using this data, the AI adapts its teaching style in real time to suit the way each individual learns.
- Student-oriented learning flow: Students can ask Chalk 4.0 anything at any time. If a student gets stuck on a math problem, the AI looks at the work and guides them through the process. It focuses on how a student retains information for the long term, rather than just completing a task.
- Education optimized interface: The platform uses an integrated LMS to detect weaknesses and a tool called Fast Track Finder to build customized learning roadmaps for students. All this happens in Mind City, a 3D world where students grow from small towns to big, chic cities while mastering new subjects.
- Gamified rewards and growth: The experience feels more like a game than a classroom. As students solve problems, they earn points that can be used to decorate their own universal planet. These points even have real-world value and can be used to earn real money in the world of CHALK, keeping students motivated to stay engaged.
FIRSTHABIT plans to officially launch CHALK in the United States in 2026. Although the platform starts with math, it is ready to expand to all STEM subjects very soon. The company is now looking for global partners in the EdTech sector that wants to help build this new future for education together.
Live feedback from educators and industry experts
The response from educators and industry experts at CES was immediate and thoughtful.
“We’ve seen a lot of AI teachers, but most of them still feel like a black box,” says a Lead Digital Specialist from a large US school district. “What stood out about Chalk 4.0 was how clearly it visualized the reasoning process. Students aren’t just given answers. They can actually see how each step is connected, which makes a real difference in understanding.”
Technology experts also pointed to FIRSTHABIT’s Visual LLM approach as a key differentiator.
“What impressed me most was the way the Visual LLM was applied,” said an educational technology specialist who reviewed the platform at CES. “Chalk 4.0 doesn’t just generate visual output. It uses images as part of the reasoning process itself. That makes explanations feel grounded and educational, not decorative.”
This feedback reflects the strength of Chalk 4.0’s design philosophy. At its core is a process-oriented AI model built on a cognition model and ontology-based structure, which prioritizes the way students understand and internalize concepts. Instead of optimizing solely for speed, the system focuses on guiding students through structured thinking.
Chalk 4.0 provides interactive AI guidance that closely resembles a one-on-one tutoring experience. By responding to visual input, student behavior and real-time interactions, the platform dynamically adjusts explanations, helping students build understanding step by step.
Interviews and talking points
At CES, FIRSTHABIT leadership met with delegations from the United States and Asia to discuss the future of learning.
The key message on the stand is that the next generation of students will not interact with screens via keyboards, but via intent-based visual interfaces.
This vision is realized through tailor-made learning roadmaps and tools such as the Fast Track Finder.
“This year, the focus at CES has clearly shifted from AI spectacle to real educational value.” says Hyunwoo Choi (Head of Business & Operations).
“Chalk 4.0 shows what happens when AI isn’t designed to impress, but to actually teach and help students understand, not just provide answers.”
What’s next for FIRSTHABIT at CES 2026
FIRSTHABIT plans to launch its first product in the United States in 2026. The company’s confidence in this expansion is supported by previous results, with beta testing conducted in Korea and the United States achieving a completion rate of 76.4 percent, almost five times higher than that of traditional e-learning programs. These results indicate that FIRSTHABIT’s personalized, process-oriented learning approach resonates strongly with learners across markets.
Building on this momentum and the strong traction demonstrated at CES 2026, FIRSTHABIT believes its learning technologies are well positioned to scale in the US and globally. The company remains focused on expanding access to personalized learning experiences that go beyond short-term answers and support sustainable understanding.
The CHALK AI Math Challenge will continue until the last day of the show and we will contact the winners of the competition individually.
At the same time, the company presents Mind City, a 3D game-like environment in which students spatially explore their cognitive progress. This student engagement platform turns learning into an interactive journey, allowing users to earn points-based rewards and cash.
The results speak for themselves. Beta testing in Korea and the US showed a 76.4% completion rate, almost five times higher than traditional e-learning. This success confirms the effectiveness of Personalized learning which moves from short-term answers to long-term internalization of knowledge.
Press inquiries
FIRST HOUSE
hyunwoo.choi [at] firsthabit.com
A video accompanying this announcement is available here: https://youtube.com/watch?v=YcVOk9GwY2M
