What is Speak?
AI language tutor for spoken fluency
- Category
- AI education
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, California
- Founded
- 2016
- Employees
- About 201-500 employees
- Total funding
- $162M reported by company / public sources
- Valuation or Status
- $1B valuation in December 2024 Series C
What is Speak?
Speak is ai language tutor for spoken fluency.
Speak is ai language tutor for spoken fluency, operating in ai education. Speak is an AI language-learning app focused on spoken fluency through conversation practice, roleplay, and personalized AI tutoring. Public sources report more than 10 million users worldwide, a leading position in South Korea, subscribers in 40+ countries, and expansion across Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the U.S.
As of June 2026, the company is best understood as a private growth company with About 201-500 employees, $162M reported by company / public sources, and $1B valuation in December 2024 Series C. For sellers, the useful signal is where the company is concentrating spend: product velocity, compliance, data, infrastructure, customer success, and go-to-market systems that support its next stage.
What does Speak offer?
Speak offers Speak Tutor, Roleplay, Free Talk, Smart Review, and related products for its market.
- Speak Tutor· AI tutor
- Roleplay· Practice
- Free Talk· Conversation
- Smart Review· Learning
- Custom lessons· Personalization
- Speak for Business· Enterprise
How does Speak make money?
Speak makes money from consumer subscriptions and Speak for Business enterprise language-learning plans.
Speak makes money from consumer subscriptions and Speak for Business enterprise language-learning plans. Growth is driven by paid conversion, retention, language-market launches, AI tutor quality, and localized curriculum. Speak is a consumer subscription app with regional pricing; App Store listings show monthly Premium around $23.49, annual Premium around $49.99-$99.99, and Premium Plus / Pro annual tiers up to roughly $199.99-$234.99 depending on region.
Because Speak is private, public revenue and margin disclosure is limited unless noted in recent reporting. The practical budget signal is the company's current operating motion: hiring, new product launches, customer expansion, and financing that funds engineering, security, data, compliance, and sales capacity.
Who leads Speak?
Speak's leadership centers on Connor Zwick and Andrew Hsu.
- Connor ZwickCo-founder and CEOCo-founder since 2016Former Flashcards+ founder and CEO of Speak.
- Andrew HsuCo-founder and CTOCo-founder since 2016AI and language-learning technologist.
- Speak curriculum leadershipLearning contentCurrent functionBuilds localized learning and practice content.
- Speak growth leadershipInternational growthCurrent functionSupports expansion across Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the U.S.
How do you contact Speak's leadership?
Speak publishes support and business contact channels; personal executive emails are not public.
support@usespeak.com is a published support address; personal executive format not verified- Connor ZwickCo-founder and CEOsupport@usespeak.com is a published support address; personal executive format not verified
- Andrew HsuCo-founder and CTOsupport@usespeak.com is a published support address; personal executive format not verified
- Speak curriculum leadershipLearning contentsupport@usespeak.com is a published support address; personal executive format not verified
- Speak growth leadershipInternational growthsupport@usespeak.com is a published support address; personal executive format not verified
How much funding has Speak raised?
Speak has $162M reported by company / public sources; latest valuation/status: $1B valuation in December 2024 Series C.
Speak has $162M reported by company / public sources; latest valuation/status: $1B valuation in December 2024 Series C. 2016-2021: Seed and early rounds. Speak developed its AI language-learning product before the current generative-AI wave. 2022: Series B — $27M. OpenAI Startup Fund led a Series B for AI language learning. June 2024: Additional financing — $20M at $500M valuation. Buckley Ventures led with OpenAI Startup Fund, Khosla Ventures, and others participating. December 2024: Series C — $78M at $1B valuation. Accel led; Speak said total funding reached $162M.
Where a round amount or valuation has not been publicly disclosed, this profile says so rather than filling the gap. The seller signal is whether the latest financing created budget for hiring, infrastructure, compliance, enterprise sales, or geographic expansion.
How did Speak get here?
Speak's milestones show its path from founding to its current ai education position.
- 2016Speak foundedConnor Zwick and Andrew Hsu began building AI-driven spoken-language learning.
- 2022OpenAI Startup Fund led Series BSpeak raised $27M as AI tutoring became a larger market.
- 2024$20M financing at $500MSpeak doubled valuation and expanded platform investment.
- December 2024Series C at $1BSpeak raised $78M led by Accel.
- 2025International expansion planAccel said Speak would expand beyond Asia into Europe, Latin America, and the U.S.
- 2026AI 50 visibilityForbes listed Speak among AI-focused companies.
Who are Speak's competitors?
Speak competes with category specialists and broader platforms serving the same buyer or user workflow.
- DuolingoPublic language-learning app with AI features and broad consumer distribution.
- BabbelSubscription language-learning company with app and live-class offerings.
- ELSA SpeakAI pronunciation and English-speaking coach.
- BusuuLanguage-learning app and community platform.
- Rosetta StoneLegacy language-learning product with consumer and enterprise channels.
Speak — frequently asked questions
