Speak, a language learning platform endorsed by OpenAI’s startup investment fund, the OpenAI Startup Fund, has revealed securing $16 million in a Series B-2 funding round, spearheaded by angel investor Lachy Groom.
Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi, the co-founders of Dropbox, also participated in this funding phase, boosting Speak’s total raised capital to $54 million. CEO Connor Zwick expressed that this funding will be channeled towards supporting Speak’s expansion into more markets, including a planned launch in the U.S. by the year’s end. (Currently, Speak operates in approximately 20 countries, including Japan, Taiwan, Germany, France, Brazil, and Mexico.)
Zwick remarked in a press release, “It’s been incredible to see that the learning experience we spent years honing in a single market, South Korea, has proven to resonate with almost no modifications needed in markets and cultures across the globe. Looking ahead, we plan on bringing our AI-powered tutor to most major markets around the world by the end of this year, and are gearing up for a launch in the U.S., offering English speakers the ability to learn other languages.”
Speak was established in 2016 by Zwick and Andrew Hsu. Zwick’s background lies in edtech – he previously sold his startup, the flashcard app Flashcards+, to Chegg in 2013 – while Hsu’s expertise lies in neuroscience.
Zwick and Hsu crossed paths through The Thiel Fellowship. Before founding Speak, they dedicated a year to studying and researching machine learning, developing accent detection algorithms by utilizing YouTube videos as training data.
Speak’s Android and iOS app allows users to engage in English conversations through interactive speaking experiences. The app facilitates open-ended dialogues guided by an “AI tutor” across various subjects, offering feedback on aspects such as pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary.
While Speak’s premise might resemble that of Duolingo and other AI-driven language learning apps like Yanadoo, ELSA, and Loora, Speak has successfully carved its niche amidst competition. It has become one of South Korea’s top-downloaded educational apps, garnering over 100,000 subscribers since its initial launch.
The company asserts that it has contributed to the English learning of nearly 6% of South Korea’s population, equating to approximately 3 million individuals.
After receiving investment from OpenAI, which not only provided funding but also early access to OpenAI systems and Azure resources from Microsoft (a close collaborator of OpenAI), Speak began incorporating OpenAI’s AI technology for enhanced capabilities and features.
In March, Speak upgraded its AI Tutor using OpenAI’s GPT-4 text-generating model, allowing for personalized and contextual feedback for learners. This integration led to more natural and instructive interactions, resulting in increased user engagement and improved learning outcomes.
Additionally, Speak adopted OpenAI’s Whisper API for multilingual speech recognition and collaborated on new plugins for ChatGPT, OpenAI’s popular AI chatbot. This marked Speak’s expansion into teaching beyond English.
Although Speak is not the sole language tutoring app granted early access to OpenAI technology (Duolingo was also an early partner for GPT-4), Lachy Groom emphasized Speak’s distinctive feature – its commitment to providing affordable language education. He stated, “Education will continue to be a sector most profoundly transformed by AI. Speak’s mission and approach to create a human-level, AI-powered tutor gives learners around the world access to conversational practice without paying a premium for a live tutor on the other end.”
