{"id":21162,"date":"2024-12-12T05:24:12","date_gmt":"2024-12-11T23:54:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thecatalystonline.in\/thecatalyst\/speak-is-now-worth-1-billion-in-a-new-funding-round\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T16:30:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T11:00:27","slug":"speak-is-now-worth-1-billion-in-a-new-funding-round","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thecatalystonline.in\/thecatalyst\/speak-is-now-worth-1-billion-in-a-new-funding-round\/","title":{"rendered":"Speak is now worth $1 billion in a new funding round"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Speak<\/a>, a startup using artificial intelligence to help people learn languages, is now worth $1 billion in a new funding round, doubling its valuation from six months ago.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The company is set to announce Tuesday that it has raised $78 million\u00a0led by venture capital firm Accel. Existing investors including the OpenAI Startup Fund, Khosla Ventures and Y Combinator also participated.\u00a0 Speak has raised $162\u00a0 million to date, the company said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

While competitors like Rosetta Stone and Duolingo Inc.\u00a0have dominated the language learning market for years, Speak is betting that it can use AI to help make people more fluent in a new tongue. Instead of trying to gamify the learning process, the startup focuses on developing authentic speaking abilities.With Speak\u2019s app, users can practice a new language by communicating\u00a0verbally with an AI system. The San Francisco-based\u00a0company\u2019s speech recognition model adapts to users\u2019 accents, allowing the app to offer real-time feedback.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cHistorically, the only way to actually become fluent is to hire a human teacher or tutor,\u201d co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Andrew Hsu<\/strong> said in an interview.\u00a0\u201cUntil the past few years, the technology just hasn\u2019t existed to build an AI or software-based conversational partner.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Speak\u2019s capital raise, its second this year, is a bright spot in the consumer AI space. While enterprise AI startups have raised $16.4 billion<\/a> so far this year, consumer AI companies have\u00a0brought in less than half of that, according to PitchBook.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of companies chasing the promise of AI in the consumer space but there are few opportunities where that promise has actually translated into real revenue,\u201d said Ben Quazzo, a partner at Accel <\/strong>who led the investment in Speak and is joining its board.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Speak has a subscription-based revenue model, with a premium service starting at $20 per month. Chief Executive Officer Connor Zwick<\/strong> said the company is approaching profitability\u00a0and had revenue in \u201cthe eight figures.\u201dWhile the consumer market has historically been its focus,\u00a0Speak also has an enterprise offering that\u2019s been gaining traction, Zwick said. \u201cMany companies across the world pay for their employees to learn English and we\u2019ve seen eight of the top 10 largest employers in Korea pick up Speak for Business,\u201d he said.\u00a0The startup plans to use the new funding to expand throughout Southeast Asia, Europe and the United States, and support most popular languages by the end of next year.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Content Courtesy – Bloomberg<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

OpenAI-backed Speak raises $78M at a $1B valuation to help users learn languages through spoken practice. 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