From WIRED · Iain Akerman · · 2m
Napster's New Life: Teaching with AI Clones
The infamous file-sharing platform is back as an AI company, partnering with schools to create digital twins of teachers.
In brief
The infamous file-sharing platform is back as an AI company, partnering with schools to create digital twins of teachers. Napster is reinventing itself as an AI platform that creates digital copies of teachers to provide 24/7 student support, positioning AI as a tool to augment rather than replace human educators…
Napster returns as an AI company
The infamous music-sharing platform from 1999 has been purchased by Infinite Reality and pivoted to artificial intelligence. It shut down its music streaming service in January 2025.
A new mission in Dubai
Napster has signed a strategic partnership with Gems Education in Dubai to build AI agents and digital personas for classrooms. Samuel Huber, formerly CEO of Landvault, now leads Napster's Middle East and Africa operations.
Same ethos, different battleground
Huber says Napster's mission remains unchanged: giving power to users. Twenty-five years ago it was about music ownership; now it's about data and intelligence, challenging the dominance of big AI companies.
“The name has always been about giving power to the users.”
Digital twins of teachers
Napster will create digital copies of teachers trained on their materials and courses. These AI twins provide 24/7 support, answering student questions and allowing teachers to scale their time without being replaced.
“a copy of yourself that you can then use to scale your time”
How digital twins help students
Students can talk to teacher AI twins outside class, ask questions, and learn at their own pace. Teachers get insights into which topics confuse students and where they need extra help.
Augmentation, not replacement
Huber argues AI should enhance teaching, not eliminate it. Just as word processors help writers work faster, AI becomes a tool that augments educators rather than replacing the human relationships central to learning.
“if you're using it in a smart way, you're bringing insights, and then you use AI to augment yourself”
Data stays local and private
Huber says student data remains within the country and can be hosted on company servers if required. Napster does not use user data to train its AI models.
UAE's AI ambitions drive expansion
The UAE Cabinet approved a plan to transition 50 percent of government services to AI within two years. Napster is positioning itself to be part of this push and plans to grow its regional team from 20 to 500 by 2030.
Local partnerships and infrastructure
Napster partnered with Kameha Ventures to tap into regional markets and with G42 to host data locally. It's also collaborating with Lenovo and Detasad in Saudi Arabia to ensure AI and data sovereignty.
The main idea
Napster is reinventing itself as an AI platform that creates digital copies of teachers to provide 24/7 student support, positioning AI as a tool to augment rather than replace human educators.
