Speak

What Speak does

Speak (legal entity Speakeasy Labs, Inc.) is an AI-powered language learning platform founded in 2016 by Connor Zwick (CEO, Harvard, ex-Thiel Fellow) and Andrew Hsu (CTO, Stanford, ex-Thiel Fellow) and headquartered in San Francisco. The company delivers a voice-first conversational AI tutor built on OpenAI's GPT-4 API and the OpenAI Realtime API, layered with a proprietary high-accuracy Speech Matching Pipeline that combines Automatic Speech Recognition with phonetic models, and an in-house Voice Agent Platform that powers Live Roleplays with low-latency, natural-turn-taking conversation. The pedagogical backbone is the proprietary 'Speak Method' loop — Learn (phrases native speakers use), Practice (repeat patterns until natural), Apply (real conversation with feedback) — supported by an AI-personalized curriculum engine that adapts in real time to learner goals, proficiency, and prior conversation performance.

The company sells primarily through a direct-to-consumer motion: a 7-day free trial on iOS, Android, and web converts into recurring monthly or annual subscriptions, with Gift Speak as a paid-acquisition variant. A secondary B2B motion, 'Speak for Business,' sells quote-based multi-year enterprise contracts with a dedicated L&D admin portal, custom content, and customer success, and has scaled to 200+ brands including KPMG and HD Hyundai. Reach extends across 30+ countries with 15M+ downloads, 25M+ personalized lessons generated in a single year, and 4.8 average app-store rating on 100K+ reviews; South Korea is the #1 market, with strong share in Japan and Taiwan, recent entry into the U.S., and an expanding footprint into mainland Chinese via a 2026 language launch. Speak is venture-backed (cumulative ~$160M raised from the OpenAI Startup Fund, Accel, Khosla Ventures, Founders Fund, and individual backers Sam Altman, Peter Thiel, Lachy Groom, Drew Houston, Jeff Weiner), reached unicorn status in December 2024, and reported $100M annualized revenue in late 2025 with 100%+ year-over-year growth.

Name

Speak

Legal name

Speakeasy Labs, Inc.

Website

https://speak.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Speak (Speakeasy Labs, Inc.) is an AI-powered language learning platform offering voice-first conversational practice through an AI tutor built on OpenAI's GPT-4 and Realtime APIs. It serves 15M+ consumer learners across 30+ countries and 200+ enterprise brands, reporting $100M annualized revenue in 2025.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

AI Language Learning Software

NAICS

Language Schools (61163), Translation and Interpretation Services (541930), Offices of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists, and Audiologists (621340), Other Sound Recording Industries (512290)

akta.pro primary industry

Conversational AI Platforms (chat/voice bots, orchestration) (HDAAAFAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Online Tutoring, Conversation Exchange & Language Coaching Platforms (EDAFAOAB), Pronunciation, Speech Recognition & Accent Training Tools (EDAFAOAG)

Keywords

• AI language learning
• Conversational AI tutor
• Speech recognition learning
• Enterprise English training
• Mobile language apps

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Consumer subscriptions (Speak app): Recurring subscription revenue from individual language learners, accessed via iOS App Store, Google Play, and web. Offers a 7-day free trial that converts to paid plans (premium package referenced in user reviews). Generates the majority of Speak's revenue, with $100M annualized revenue reported in late 2025.
2. Freemium trial funnel: 7-day free trial grants full access to all features, after which users convert to a paid subscription. Acts as the primary acquisition funnel.
3. Speak for Business (B2B enterprise contracts): Enterprise SaaS contracts sold to corporate L&D teams for workforce English training. Includes a dedicated Customer Success function, Admin/L&D portal, custom content, and reporting. 200+ brands reported as customers, with KPMG and HD Hyundai named.
4. Gift Speak: Gift subscription option for the consumer app, creating an additional paid acquisition channel.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Speak is an AI-powered language learning platform delivered as a mobile and web app that focuses on getting learners to speak out loud with an AI tutor. It combines an expert-crafted curriculum with proprietary voice-first AI (built on OpenAI's GPT-4 and Realtime APIs) to deliver real-time, judgment-free conversational practice, pronunciation feedback, and personalized lessons across multiple languages including English, Korean, Japanese, Spanish, French, Italian, and Chinese.

Product overview

Speak is a single unified AI-powered language learning platform built around a proprietary Speak Method (Learn, Practice, Apply) and a conversational AI tutor. The core consumer product, Speak, anchors the offering, while Speak Tutor (the AI-powered tutor) and Live Roleplays (OpenAI Realtime API-powered voice conversations) are the primary AI modules that deliver personalized, conversational practice across multiple languages. Speak for Business is the dedicated enterprise extension of the same platform, adding an L&D Admin Portal, dedicated customer success, and Business English content for organizational deployments by 200+ brands.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Speak for Business: Enterprise / B2B offering of Speak's AI language tutor for organizational teams, with dedicated admin portal and customer success support.
• Speak Tutor

Products and services

• Speak (Consumer App) AI-powered language learning app available on iOS, Android, and web that gets users speaking a new language through an expert-crafted, AI-personalized curriculum. Targets adult self-directed learners across 30+ countries, with localized experiences in English, Korean, Japanese, French, Spanish, Italian, and Chinese.
• Speak for Business

Quantifiable outcome

• $100M annualized revenue (2025)
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability8 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Washington Nationals (MLB)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 14 April 2026Partnership announced April 2026 to 'build a bilingual clubhouse' — using MLB games as a real-world language-learning engagement surface for fans.
• OpenAIflagshipTechnology or IntegrationDeep technology partnership: Speak is built on OpenAI's GPT-4 API and is an early adopter of OpenAI's Realtime API and audio multimodality for conversational speaking practice. OpenAI COO Brad Lightcap is quoted on the B2B page praising the partnership as 'a powerful application of generative AI for language learning'.
• CheggminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerHistorical acquirer of Speak founders' previous education product, Flashcards+ (the #1 education app, which was acquired by category leader Chegg). Reflects founders' prior exit in the education space.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Duolingo: The largest AI-enabled consumer language-learning app globally with hundreds of millions of MAUs. Directly competes with Speak on AI tutoring, gamified lessons, and consumer subscriptions across the same languages; Speak's late-2025 U.S. market entry is explicitly framed as competing against Duolingo.
• Babbel: Subscription-based language learning app offering structured, expert-designed lessons across multiple languages. Direct competitor to Speak on consumer subscriptions and B2B workforce English training, with a more vocabulary-and-grammar-led curriculum versus Speak's speaking-first approach.
• Memrise: AI-augmented language learning app with native-speaker video clips and conversational practice features. Direct Speak competitor targeting the same consumer subscription segment with growing AI conversational features.
• Busuu: Subscription language-learning app (acquired by Chegg) combining AI personalization with community-based feedback from native speakers. Direct Speak competitor in consumer subscriptions and a relevant comp given its prior ownership by Speak founders' acquirer.
• Preply: Marketplace for human language tutors that has been layering AI-driven personalization and practice tools. Adjacent competitor to Speak in both B2C and corporate English training, with a hybrid human+AI model that Speak's pure-AI approach contrasts with.
• italki: Global marketplace connecting language learners with human tutors for one-on-one lessons. Competes for the same conversational-practice budget Speak targets, with a fully human model that Speak positions its AI tutor as a lower-cost, always-on alternative to.

Broad incumbents

• Rosetta Stone: Long-standing incumbent language learning platform with both consumer subscriptions and enterprise (Rosetta Stone for Enterprise) offerings. Competes with Speak on B2B corporate English training with broader language coverage but a less AI-native product.

Emerging players

• ELSA Speak: AI-powered English pronunciation coach focused on accent reduction and speaking fluency — a narrower overlap with Speak's speaking-first value proposition. Targets global English learners and competes on the voice/pronunciation evaluation dimension.
• BoldVoice: AI-driven English pronunciation and accent training app targeting non-native professionals. Overlaps with Speak's speaking focus with a narrower, B2C-focused offering and is a relevant emerging competitor in the AI speaking-tutor niche.

Regional players

• Cake: Korean-language learning app particularly strong in South Korea and Japan, focused on short-form video and AI-driven conversational English practice. A regional direct competitor in Speak's home Korean and Japanese markets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/speak_official
• Xx.com/speak
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/usespeak

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds6 records

Investors18 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Speak