Where engineering meets entrepreneurship

At Kansas State University, Kevin Roy knew he would receive a high-quality computer science education. What he didn't expect was the opportunity to discover his entrepreneurial potential along the way.

Roy, a senior in computer science in the Carl R. Ice College of Engineering, Overland Park, says he chose the field not only to follow in his father's footsteps, but also because he enjoys building things.

"I've always had a love of building things and being hands-on with different projects, and I felt like going into coding and computer science was the best way to do that," Roy said.

For his first finals week as a freshman, Roy had several exams to prepare for with lengthy study guides and many definitions to memorize. As he pored over his study materials, he found himself wishing there was a tool to make the process easier.

This need led Roy to an innovative idea: a personalized AI platform to help himself and other students study and learn.

That idea has now grown into something much larger — just one year after launch, the platform Roy created has attracted more than 21,500 users across 60 countries, and K-State provided the tools to help bring this idea to fruition.

From idea to impact

Using what he'd learned in his computer science courses and driven by his curiosity and desire to build, Roy created the platform — called Revix AI — outside of the classroom, but K-State quickly became a place where his vision could be tested and refined.

"I thought, what if I use my knowledge in computer science to build a platform to study for my finals?" Roy said. "Then some of my friends wanted to use it, so it just kind of started to spread around campus. I decided to launch it for everyone in January 2025."

During Roy's first semester of his junior year, his advisor, Lior Shamir, professor of computer science, recommended that he take a graduate-level computer science course, where faculty mentorship and project development intersect.

Under Shamir's guidance, Roy's project evolved, and the pair developed the machine learning framework behind the platform, supported by research and real-world applications.

"Revix AI is a powerful example of user‑driven artificial intelligence designed to make people's lives easier," Shamir said. "Developing such a complex system effectively requires not merely creativity and excellent technical skills, but also leadership."

The heart of innovation

What started as an independent project also became connected to the K-State community during the platform's development, Roy said.

"As the platform launched and grew, so did the team, with talent joining from across the university," Roy said. "K-State students served as software engineers, marketers and collaborators, helping build the product end-to-end," Roy said.

At its core, the platform's focus is on helping learners — whether they need help preparing for an exam, getting clarity on a topic, or understanding homework, Roy said. The user can upload information and receive personalized study materials in formats such as flashcards or even podcasts.

"The podcast option is one of our more popular features," Roy said. "The platform will generate a podcast from your notes, and you can just pop it in your ears and walk to class and hear a conversation about your notes."

As Roy's passion for the platform has been to help others, he's also seen a need in other areas and is developing a platform for educators. Users of the two platforms will be able to connect through a classroom feature, he said.

The project showcases the best of K-State collaboration, elevating innovative student ideas through university mentors and resources.

"Seeing Revix grow from an idea in my dorm room and late-night coding sessions in Hale Library to a platform used by people worldwide has been an incredible journey," Roy said. "The support from K-State mentors, like Dr. Shamir, was the catalyst I needed to turn a student project into a global platform."