AI-Powered Language App Speak Hits $1 Billion Milestone with $78M Funding 

English isn’t just a language; it’s a key that unlocks life-changing opportunities.

Mastering a new language is often a daunting task. For 1.5 billion people learning English worldwide, the challenge goes beyond memorizing grammar and vocabulary; the real hurdle is speaking confidently. Traditional methods—like classes, tutors, or gamified apps—have tried to bridge this gap, but none have fully cracked the code. Speak, a San Francisco-based language-learning startup, has taken on this challenge by using artificial intelligence to replicate the natural way people learn languages—through speaking. The company’s innovative approach has now earned it unicorn status, as it reached a $1 billion valuation following a $78 million Series C funding round led by Accel, with participation from OpenAI’s Startup Fund, Khosla Ventures, and Y Combinator.

The Problem Speak is Solving

Most language learners spend years studying grammar and building vocabulary but struggle with real-world communication. Co-founder and CTO Andrew Hsu summarized this issue: “The only way to actually become fluent has historically been to hire a human teacher or tutor. Technology wasn’t advanced enough to replicate that experience—until now.” Speak’s AI-powered app directly addresses this gap by providing users with a virtual conversational partner that adapts to their speaking style and accents, offering real-time feedback to improve fluency.

According to Speak’s co-founder and CEO, Connor Zwick, the app’s primary audience includes the 1.5 billion people worldwide striving to learn English. Despite years of classroom learning, many lack the ability to converse fluently. Speak bridges this gap by offering users an AI-powered conversational partner.

$78 Million Series C

Speak’s recent funding round, led by venture capital giant Accel, marks a significant milestone for the eight-year-old company. The $78 million infusion doubled its valuation to $1 billion in just six months. Other prominent investors, including OpenAI’s Startup Fund, Khosla Ventures, and Y Combinator, also participated, showcasing broad confidence in Speak’s innovative vision. The company had previously secured a $20 million Series B extension at a $500 million valuation just six months ago, making its current valuation a staggering leap. 

Ben Quazzo, a partner at Accel and now a board member at Speak, praised the startup’s trajectory: “Speak has emerged as a standout player in consumer AI, demonstrating exceptional growth and market potential.” This growth is particularly notable in a challenging funding environment where consumer AI companies have raised less than half the capital of their enterprise counterparts this year.

How Speak Works

Unlike traditional apps that gamify the process, Speak’s platform is designed around how native speakers learn. Its approach comprises three key steps:

  1. Immersion in Listening and Speaking: Users are immediately thrown into conversational scenarios, focusing on verbal communication rather than rote memorization.
  2. Drills and Repetition: The app encourages practice through exercises that automate language use without requiring mental translation.
  3. Real-World Contexts: AI-generated scenarios anchor the new language in practical, everyday situations, making learning intuitive and effective.

With no human tutors involved, Speak’s speech recognition and natural language processing technologies ensure that the app adapts to each learner’s accent and pace, creating personalized lessons. Over the past year, the platform has delivered more than 25 million tailored lessons, a testament to its scalable and dynamic AI engine.

From Consumers to Businesses

Although Speak has primarily targeted individual learners, its enterprise offering, Speak for Business, has gained significant traction. Over 200 companies, including eight of Korea’s top 10 employers, use Speak to help employees improve their English proficiency. The enterprise tier boasts an impressive 85% adoption rate among employees.

Zwick revealed that Speak’s premium subscription model, priced at $20 per month or $99 per year, has driven revenues into “the eight figures” and positioned the company near profitability.

Connor Zwick, CEO and co-founder, shared how businesses are leveraging Speak: “English is not just a language; it’s a key to unlocking opportunities—from higher education to global careers. We’ve seen tremendous adoption rates, with 85% of employees embracing our enterprise offering.”

OpenAI’s Role

Speak’s success is closely tied to its collaboration with OpenAI, whose advanced language models power the app’s conversational AI. Ian Hathaway, a partner at OpenAI’s Startup Fund, highlighted this synergy: “Our investment in Speak was driven by a shared vision of revolutionizing language learning with AI. Their world-class AI talent and unique product vision are creating transformative learning experiences.”

This partnership underscores Speak’s potential as a commercial showcase for generative AI applications. OpenAI’s speech technologies have been integral to refining the platform’s capabilities, positioning Speak as a frontrunner in consumer AI.

What’s Next

 The funding will fuel Speak’s ambitious plans to expand across Southeast Asia, Europe, and the United States while adding more languages, such as Spanish and French, to its platform by the end of next year. CEO Connor Zwick highlighted that Speak has already created over 25 million personalized lessons this year and aims to evolve into a fully dynamic learning experience powered by large language models (LLMs) and cutting-edge speech technology.

Despite skipping standardized test preparation, Speak’s technology has the potential to redefine language fluency assessments. Co-founder and CTO Andrew Hsu hinted at future plans to introduce an accurate fluency score, leveraging the platform’s AI capabilities to quantify language proficiency.

While the startup has avoided gamification, it is exploring ways to incorporate behavioral mechanisms that enhance engagement without compromising learning outcomes. “When there’s a tug of war between gamification and efficacy, we will pick efficacy 100% of the time,” Zwick stated.

With a mission to make personalized, AI-powered language tutoring accessible worldwide, Speak is making an AI-driven shift in education. “English isn’t just a language; it’s a key that unlocks life-changing opportunities,” Zwick said.

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Picture of Anshika Mathews
Anshika Mathews
Anshika is the Senior Content Strategist for AIM Research. She holds a keen interest in technology and related policy-making and its impact on society. She can be reached at anshika.mathews@aimresearch.co
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