Speak, an AI-powered language learning platform backed by OpenAI, recently launched its application in Taiwan. The company plans to use Taiwan as a base for expanding into the Chinese-speaking market, though it has not elaborated on its strategy for mainland China.
Founded in 2016, Speak offers online courses in languages such as English and Spanish, leveraging AI-driven speech recognition, generation, and natural language understanding. The platform can instantly recognize users' speech and provide real-time grammar corrections. While many language learning apps emphasize vocabulary and grammar, Speak focuses on interactive speaking practice and personalized lessons.
Headquartered in San Francisco with approximately 75 employees, Speak currently has no physical office in Taiwan, maintaining only a small presence of 2-3 employees in the country. In Asia, the company launched in South Korea in 2019, Japan in 2023, and Taiwan in April 2024.
Since 2022, Speak has forged a partnership with OpenAI and received investment from the OpenAI Startup Fund. The company also utilizes models and resources from AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud.
Speak co-founder and CEO Connor Zwick noted that over a billion people worldwide learn English as a foreign language, but there is a lack of effective tools for speaking practice. This gap in the market motivated them to create an AI-powered speaking tutor. Prior to Speak, Zwick co-founded the edtech startup Flashcards+ and developed the Coco Controller for gaming.
Following its April launch in Taiwan, the team observed user growth surpassing that seen in South Korea and Japan, prompting plans for further investment in the Taiwanese market.
When asked about the company's decision not to target the larger Chinese market, Zwick stated that they see numerous opportunities in Taiwan, citing strong demand for English language learning. However, he refrained from commenting on potential entry into mainland China. Regarding the possibility of collaborating with local cloud or AI providers for a China launch, Zwick responded that their development is still in its early stages, and such considerations would be addressed in the future.
The recent move by OpenAI to restrict API access for Chinese companies has created challenges for businesses aiming to launch in China, particularly due to OpenAI's closed-source model.
Speak co-founder and CTO Andrew Hsu, whose parents are from Taiwan, grew up in Seattle and holds degrees in neurobiology, biochemistry, and chemistry from the University of Washington. He later pursued a PhD in neuroscience at Stanford University but dropped out at 19 to join the Thiel Fellowship, where he met Zwick.
Earlier in 2024, Speak secured US$20 million in Series B-3 funding, elevating its valuation to approximately US$500 million and bringing its total funding to around US$84 million.
