Gen AI-driven English speaking platform SpeakX secures $16M in pre-Series B funding
The Gurugram-headquartered company’s funding round was led by WestBridge Capital, with participation from Elevation Capital and Goodwater Capital.
Gen AI-driven English speaking platform SpeakX has received $16 million in a pre-Series B funding round as it plans to enhance its AI technology, expand its team, and add regional language support.
The Gurugram-headquartered company’s funding round was led by WestBridge Capital, with participation from Elevation Capital and Goodwater Capital. Angels, including Shyamal Anadkat of OpenAI and Ronnie Screwvala of upGrad, also joined.
Founded in 2020, originally as Yellow Class, a children’s hobby learning platform, the company pivoted to AI-driven English language learning and rebranded as SpeakX in 2023. It uses generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) to help users practice and improve their English-speaking skills.
Manish Advani, Principal at Elevation Capital, highlighted that the startup is “empowering users with the confidence to speak, connect, and advance in their careers.”
The edtech startup offers an AI tutor that simulates real-world role plays such as job interviews and workplace discussions, providing real-time speech correction, adaptive difficulty, vernacular-to-English translation support, and practical vocabulary coaching.
According to the company, 70% of its current learners are Hindi-speaking. It plans to bring support for languages like Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, and Bengali within 12 months.
“Language proficiency continues to be a key driver of economic mobility. SpeakX.ai’s AI-native platform is opening new pathways for millions of learners to overcome barriers with speed and scale,” remarked Sandeep Singhal, Managing Partner at WestBridge Capital.
The startup claims to have crossed 1 million monthly learners, 200,000 active paying subscribers, with an annual recurring revenue of $7.5 million. Most of its revenue comes from job seekers and students.
The company noted that it has been EBITDA-positive since April this year, generating $150,000 in monthly profits and $1 million in cumulative EBITDA over the last five months.
EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation, is a measure of core operating profitability.
The Gurugram-based firm is targeting $12 million in annual EBITDA by 2026 and aims to build a $300–400 million business in India within the next 2–3 years.
“For our users, English is not just a skill, it is confidence, career, and dignity,” Arpit Mittal, Founder of SpeakX, said.
Last month, another learning platform, Seekho, which offers short-form, vernacular learning videos, raised $28 million in a Series B funding round. The OTT platform’s funding round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners with participation from Goodwater Capital and existing investors Lightspeed Venture Partners and Elevation Capital.
Edited by Jyoti Narayan