How Much Did Speak Raise? Funding & Key Investors

What Is Speak?

Speak, developed by Speakeasy Labs, Inc., is a language learning app that leverages artificial intelligence to help users achieve fluency through speaking out loud. The company operates within the industries of artificial intelligence, e-learning, language learning, and speech recognition.

Founded in San Francisco, California in 2016, Speak has grown to employ between 51–100 people. The app has gained significant traction, boasting a 4.8 rating and over 15 million downloads, underscoring its effectiveness and popularity among users.

How Much Funding Has Speak Raised?

1. Seed Round
   • Amount Raised: Not publicly disclosed
   • Date: 2016 (first round; Y Combinator Winter 2017 batch also participated)
   • Lead Investors: Y Combinator, Khosla Ventures
   • Valuation at Round: Not publicly disclosed
   • Motivation Behind the Round: To kickstart the development of the AI-driven language learning platform.
2. Series A
   • Amount Raised: USD 11,000,000
   • Date: August 2020
   • Lead Investors: JAM Fund, Justin Mateen
   • Valuation at Round: Not publicly disclosed
   • Motivation Behind the Round: To scale the platform and enhance AI capabilities.
3. Series B
   • Amount Raised: USD 27,000,000
   • Date: November 2022
   • Lead Investors: OpenAI Startup Fund
   • Other Investors: Founders Fund, Lachy Groom, Josh Buckley, Justin Mateen, Gokul Rajaram
   • Valuation at Round: Not publicly disclosed
   • Motivation Behind the Round: To accelerate AI-driven conversational language experiences and expand to new regions.
4. Series B-2
   • Amount Raised: USD 16,000,000
   • Date: August 2023
   • Lead Investors: Lachy Groom
   • Other Investors: Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi (Dropbox co-founders)
   • Valuation at Round: Not publicly disclosed
   • Motivation Behind the Round: To support U.S. market expansion and platform growth; brought total raised to $63M.
5. Series B-3
   • Amount Raised: USD 20,000,000
   • Date: June 2024
   • Lead Investors: Buckley Ventures
   • Other Investors: OpenAI Startup Fund, Khosla Ventures, Paul Graham, Jeff Weiner
   • Valuation at Round: USD 500,000,000
   • Motivation Behind the Round: To double valuation and support continued platform expansion; brought total raised to $84M.
6. Series C
   • Amount Raised: USD 78,000,000
   • Date: December 10, 2024
   • Lead Investors: Accel (led by partner Ben Quazzo, who joined Speak's Board of Directors)
   • Other Investors: OpenAI Startup Fund, Khosla Ventures, Y Combinator, and other returning backers
   • Valuation at Round: USD 1,000,000,000
   • Motivation Behind the Round: To expand the platform's language offerings (beginning with Spanish and French), refine its AI-driven experience, and scale globally.

Total amount raised: At least USD 152,000,000 based on disclosed funding rounds. Current valuation: USD 1,000,000,000.

Key Investors

• Accel
  • Details: Accel is a global venture capital firm that partners with exceptional founders from inception through all phases of growth. They led the Series C funding round for Speak, with partner Ben Quazzo joining Speak's Board of Directors.
  • Investment Focus Areas: Early-stage and growth-stage technology companies, consumer AI, enterprise markets.
  • Notable Investments: Facebook, Dropbox, Slack, Spotify.
• OpenAI Startup Fund
  • Details: Managed by OpenAI, this fund focuses on investing in early-stage AI startups that align with OpenAI's mission. They led the Series B and have participated in every subsequent round for Speak.
  • Investment Focus Areas: AI-driven learning, education technologies, transformative AI products.
  • Notable Investments: Descript, other AI-driven startups.
• Khosla Ventures
  • Details: Khosla Ventures is a venture capital firm that provides venture assistance and strategic advice to entrepreneurs working on breakthrough technologies. They have participated in multiple rounds for Speak including the Series C.
  • Investment Focus Areas: Technology, healthcare, clean energy, disruptive innovations.
  • Notable Investments: Square, DoorDash, Impossible Foods.
• Y Combinator
  • Details: Y Combinator is a startup accelerator that provided seed backing to Speak as part of its Winter 2017 batch, and has continued as an investor through the Series C.
  • Investment Focus Areas: Early-stage startups, technology, innovation.
  • Notable Investments: Airbnb, Dropbox, Stripe, Reddit.
• JAM Fund
  • Details: JAM Fund is a venture capital firm founded by Justin Mateen, co-founder of Tinder. They led the Series A funding round for Speak.
  • Investment Focus Areas: Technology, consumer internet, mobile applications.
  • Notable Investments: Tinder, other consumer internet startups.

What's Next for Speak?

Speak's future is brimming with opportunities. The company plans to expand its language offerings to include Spanish and French, tapping into a market of over 1.5 billion English learners. With more than 200 enterprise customers and a growing user base, the potential for growth is immense. The integration of advanced AI and gamification features will further enhance user engagement and learning outcomes.

Future fundraising efforts are likely to focus on scaling the platform and expanding into new markets. The strong backing from investors like Accel and OpenAI suggests that additional funding rounds are on the horizon. These investments will be crucial for enhancing AI capabilities and broadening the platform's reach.

However, Speak will face challenges such as competition from other language learning platforms and the need to maintain the quality of its AI-driven learning experience. Balancing innovation with user satisfaction will be key as the company navigates its growth trajectory.

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